Active matrix substrate, method of making the substrate, and display device

ABSTRACT

An active matrix substrate includes base substrate, gate lines, data lines, thin-film transistors and pixel electrodes. The gate lines are formed on the base substrate. The data lines are formed over the gate lines. Each of the data lines crosses all of the gate lines with an insulating film interposed therebetween. The thin-film transistors are formed over the base substrate. Each of the thin-film transistors is associated with one of the gate lines and operates responsive to a signal on the associated gate line. Each of the pixel electrodes is associated with one of the data lines and one of the thin-film transistors and is electrically connectable to the associated data line by way of the associated thin-film transistor. Each of the pixel electrodes and the associated thin-film transistor are connected together by way of a conductive member. Each of the pixel electrodes crosses one of the gate lines, while the conductive member for the pixel electrode crosses another one of the gate lines that is adjacent to the former gate line.

This is a divisional patent application of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/921,620 filed 19 Aug. 2004, by Yoshihiro OKADA, Yuichi SAITO,Shinya YAMAKAWA, Atsushi BAN, Masaya OKAMOTO, and Hiroyuki OHGAMI (thesame inventors as of this divisional application), entitled ACTIVEMATRIX SUBSTRATE, METHOD OF MAKING THE SUBSTRATE AND DISPLAY DEVICE, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,126,157, that in turn is a divisional patent applicationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/939,479 filed 24 Aug. 2001, byYoshihiro OKADA, Yuichi SAITO, Shinya YAMAKAWA, Atsushi BAN, MasayaOKAMOTO, and Hiroyuki OHGAMI (the same inventors as of this divisionalapplication), entitled ACTIVE MATRIX SUBSTRATE, METHOD OF MAKING THESUBSTRATE AND DISPLAY DEVICE, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,797,982, issued 28Sep. 2004, which are both incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an active matrix substrate and a methodof making the substrate and also relates to a display device includingthe active matrix substrate and a method for fabricating the displaydevice.

Recently, liquid crystal display devices (LCDs) have been furtherbroadening their applications. LCDs were normally used indoors as imagedisplay devices for desktop computers or TV sets. But now LCDs are oftenused as video or information display devices for various types of mobileelectronic units including cell phones, notebook or laptop computers,portable TV sets, digital cameras and digital camcorders and forcar-mounted electronic units like a car navigation system.

Some types of LCDs are addressed using matrix electrodes. Thosematrix-addressed LCDs are roughly classifiable into the two categoriesof passive- and active-matrix-addressed LCDs. In anactive-matrix-addressed LCD, pixels are arranged in columns and rows asits name signifies, and each of those pixels is provided with aswitching element. And by controlling those switching elements usingdata and gate lines that are arranged to cross each other, the LCD ofthis type can supply desired signal charge (i.e., data signal) to aselected one of the pixel electrodes.

Hereinafter, a known active-matrix-addressed LCD will be described withreference to FIGS. 43 and 44. FIG. 43 illustrates a schematicconfiguration for a known LCD of that type. FIG. 44 illustrates across-sectional structure for a typical liquid crystal panel.

As shown in FIG. 43, the LCD includes liquid crystal panel 50 and gateand source drive circuits 51 and 52 with gate and source drivers 53. Thepanel 50 spatially modulates incoming light. The gate drive circuit 51selectively drives switching elements in the liquid crystal panel 50,while the source drive circuit 52 supplies a signal to each pixelelectrode in the panel 50.

As shown in FIG. 44, the panel 50 includes: a pair of transparentinsulating substrates 54 and 55 of glass; a liquid crystal layer 38interposed between the substrates 54 and 55; and a pair of polarizers 56placed on the outer surfaces of the substrates 54 and 55. The liquidcrystal layer 38 may be a twisted nematic liquid crystal layer, forexample.

On the inner surface of the substrate 54 facing the liquid crystal layer38, pixel electrodes 114 are arranged in matrix. A common transparentelectrode 36 is formed on the inner surface of the substrate 55. In thisconstruction, a desired voltage can be applied to a selected part of theliquid crystal layer 38 using the pixel electrodes 114 and commontransparent electrode 36. Each of the pixel electrodes 14 is connectedto the source drive circuit 52 by way of its associated thin-filmtransistor (TFT) 110 and data line (not shown in FIG. 44). As shown inFIG. 44, the TFTs 110 are formed on the substrate 54. The switchingoperation of the TFTs 110 is controllable using gate lines (not shown inFIG. 44, either), which are connected to the gate drive circuit 51 andformed on the substrate 54.

On the inner surface of the substrate 55 facing the liquid crystal layer38, black matrix 35, R, G and B color filters and common transparentelectrode 36 have been formed.

The inner surface of the substrates 54 and 55 facing the liquid crystallayer 38 is covered with an alignment film 37. And in the liquid crystallayer 38, spacers 40 with a size of several μm are dispersed.

The substrate 54 including these members thereon is collectively calledan “active matrix substrate”, while the substrate 55 with those membersthereon is called a “counter substrate”.

Hereinafter, various structures for known active matrix substrates willbe described.

FIG. 45A illustrates a layout for a unit pixel region defined for aknown active matrix substrate, while FIG. 45B illustrates a crosssection of the unit pixel region taken along the line A-A′ shown in FIG.45A.

In the example illustrated in FIGS. 45A and 45B, multiple gate lines 102and multiple data lines 105 are formed over a glass substrate 121 so asto cross each other. More specifically, the gate lines 102 belong to afirst layer on the glass substrate 121, while the data lines 105 belongto a second layer located over the first layer. And the gate and datalines 102 and 105 are electrically isolated from each other by aninsulating film 104 belonging to a third intermediate layer between thefirst and second layers.

In each rectangular region surrounded by the gate and data lines 102 and105, a pixel electrode 114 has been formed by patterning a transparentconductive film, for example. The pixel electrode 114 receives signalcharges from associated one of the data lines 105 by way of a TFT 110that has been formed near the intersection between the associated dataline 105 and one of the gate lines 102. A storage capacitance line 113has been formed under the pixel electrode 114 to extend parallel to thegate lines 102. Accordingly, a storage capacitance is created betweenthe pixel electrode 114 and storage capacitance line 113.

As shown in FIG. 45B, the TFT 110 includes gate electrode 103, gateinsulating film 104, intrinsic (i-) semiconductor layer 106, dopedsemiconductor layer 107 and source/drain electrodes 108 and 109. Thegate electrode 103 is a branch extended vertically from the gate line102 as shown in FIG. 45A. The gate electrode 103 is covered with thegate insulating film 104. The semiconductor layer 106 is located rightover the gate electrode 103 with the gate insulating film 104 interposedtherebetween. The doped semiconductor layer 107 exists on thei-semiconductor layer 106. And the source/drain electrodes 108 and 109are electrically connected to source/drain regions defined in thei-semiconductor layer 106 by way of the doped semiconductor layer 107.As shown in FIG. 45A, the source electrode 108 is a branch extendedvertically from the data line 105 and forms part of the data line 105.

The drain electrode 109 is a conductive member that electricallyconnects the drain region of the TFT 110 and the pixel electrode 114together. The drain electrode 109, as well as the data lines 105 andsource electrode 108, is formed by patterning a metal film. That is tosay, in the illustrated example, the data lines 105 and source/drainelectrodes 108 and 109 belong to the same layer, and their layout isdetermined by a mask pattern for use in a photolithographic process.

The source/drain electrodes 108 and 109 are connected together via achannel region defined in the i-semiconductor layer 106. And theelectrical continuity of the channel region is controllable by thepotential level at the gate electrode 103. Where the TFT 110 is ofn-channel type, the TFT 110 can be turned ON by raising the potentiallevel at the gate electrode 103 to the inversion threshold voltage ofthe transistor 110 or more. Then, the source/drain electrodes 108 and109 are electrically continuous to each other, thereby allowing chargesto be exchanged between the data line 105 and pixel electrode 114.

To operate the TFT 110 properly, at least part of the source/drainelectrodes 108 and 109 should overlap with the gate electrode 103.Normally, the gate electrode 103 has a line width of about 10 μm orless. Accordingly, in a photolithographic process for forming the datalines 105 and source/drain electrodes 108 and 109, these members 105,108 and 109 should be aligned accurately enough with the gate electrode103 already existing on the substrate 121. Normally, an alignmentaccuracy required is on the order of ±several micrometers or even less.

Also, the size of the area where the gate and drain electrodes 103 and109 overlap with each other defines a gate-drain capacitance C_(gd),which is one of key parameters determining the resultant displayperformance. That is to say, if the gate-drain capacitance C_(gd) valuesare not distributed uniformly enough within the substrate plane, thenthe display quality will deteriorate noticeably. For that reason, thealignment accuracy of an exposure system is controlled at ±1 μm or lessin an actual manufacturing process to minimize the misalignment.

As can be seen, extremely high alignment accuracy is recently requiredin making active matrix substrates. To meet that heavy demand,high-precision exposure systems have been developed and actuallyoperated. Before those high-alignment-accuracy exposure systems wereavailable, however, a layout for an active matrix substrate used to bemodified in some way or other to increase the alignment margin as muchas possible and thereby raise the production yield.

FIG. 46A illustrates a layout that was proposed for an active matrixsubstrate when exposure systems still had low alignment accuracy. In thearrangement shown in FIG. 46A, the drain electrode 109 of a TFT 110extends from a pixel electrode 114 parallel to a data line 105 andcrosses a gate line 102. The TFT 110 is formed at and around theintersection between the data and gate lines 105 and 102. In the exampleillustrated in FIGS. 46A and 46B, the gate and data lines 102 and 105have no branches, the gate line 102 itself serves as a gate electrodeand part of the data line 105 serves as a source electrode 108.

An active matrix substrate with this structure is made in the followingmanner.

First, transparent conductive film 161 and doped semiconductor layer 107are deposited in this order over a glass substrate 101, and thenpatterned using a first mask, thereby forming data lines 105, drainelectrodes 109 and pixel electrodes 114.

Next, i-semiconductor layer 106, gate insulating film 104 and metal thinfilm 102 are deposited in this order over the structure prepared in theprevious process step. Then, the metal thin film 102, gate insulatingfilm 104 and i-semiconductor layer 106 are sequentially patterned usinga second mask, thereby forming gate lines 102 and storage capacitancelines 113 out of the metal thin film 102.

In this method, even if the gate lines 102 are subsequently formed over,and somewhat misaligned with, the data lines 105 and drain electrodes109 that were formed first, the gate lines 102 still can overlap boththe data lines 105 and the drain electrodes 109 in sufficiently largeareas. As a result, the unwanted variation in gate-drain capacitanceC_(gd) is suppressible.

In the structure illustrated in FIGS. 46A and 46B, however, thei-semiconductor layer 106 exists in thin stripes under the gate lines102 and crosses all the data lines 105. Accordingly, when a scan signal(or select signal) is input to one of the gate lines 102 to turn the TFT110 0N, part of the semiconductor layer 106 located between the drainelectrode 109 and the data line 105 on the left-hand side of the drainelectrode 109 naturally serves as a channel region for the TFT 110. Inaddition, another part of the semiconductor layer 106 located betweenthe drain electrode 109 and the data line 105 on the right-hand side ofthe drain electrode 109 also serves as a channel region for a parasitictransistor unintentionally. In that case, crosstalk should occur betweentwo horizontally adjacent pixels. As a result, the display contrast ofan active-matrix-addressed LCD with such a structure, which should behigh enough otherwise, decreases disadvantageously.

To solve this problem, an active matrix substrate with the structureshown in FIG. 47 was proposed as disclosed in Japanese Laid-OpenPublication No. 61-108171. The active matrix substrate shown in FIG. 47has basically the same structure as the counterpart shown in FIGS. 45Aand 45B. The structure shown in FIG. 47 is different from that shown inFIGS. 45A and 45B in that the gate lines 102 have no branches (i.e.,gate electrodes) but that the gate lines 102 themselves serve as gateelectrodes in thin stripes. Also, in the structure shown in FIG. 47, thedrain electrode 109 extends parallel to the data lines 105. In such astructure, even if the data lines 105 and drain electrode 109 aresomewhat misaligned with the gate electrode (i.e., part of the gate line102), the TFT 110 still can operate properly and the overlap areabetween the drain electrode 109 and gate line 102 does not change.Consequently, the variation in capacitance C_(gd) is suppressible.

The structure shown in FIG. 47 can increase the alignment margin up toabout 10-20 μm. However, most of the exposure systems currently used formaking active matrix substrates realize an alignment accuracy of lessthan ±1 μm. For that reason, the structure shown in FIG. 47 is rarelyused now. Instead, the structure shown in FIGS. 45A and 45B is actuallyadopted much more often to increase the aperture ratio and to make thelayout more easily modifiable when failures are found.

In another known type of structure (see Japanese Laid-Open PublicationNo. 63-279228), pixel electrodes are formed in a layer different fromthe layer where data lines belong so that the pixel electrodes, formedon an interlevel dielectric film, overlap the data lines. In such astructure, no horizontal gap is needed between the pixel electrodes anddata lines because the pixel electrodes are included in a layer locatedover the layer where the data lines belong. As a result, the pixelelectrodes can have their aperture ratio increased and an LCD includingsuch a substrate can have its power dissipation reduced.

Recently, to reduce the weight of electronic units, LCDs fabricated on aplastic substrate, lighter in weight than a glass substrate, aresometimes modeled.

However, the sizes of a plastic substrate are changeable considerablyduring a fabrication process. Also, any size of a plastic substrate ischangeable differently depending on a particular combination of processconditions. So an LCD on a plastic substrate currently operates too muchinconsistently to put it to actual use.

A rate at which a plastic substrate changes its size (i.e., expands orshrinks) horizontally to its principal surface (which will be hereinreferred to as a “substrate expandability”) heavily depends on theprocess temperature or the amount of water absorbed into the plasticsubstrate. For example, the temperature-dependent expandability of aglass substrate is 3 to 5 ppm/° C., while that of a plastic substrate isas much as 50 to 100 ppm/° C. Also, a plastic substrate is expandable atas high a rate as 3000 ppm when absorbs water.

The substrate expandability reaching 3000 ppm is the maximum value inall the process steps of the fabrication process thereof. To estimatethe mask misalignment actually observable in a photolithographicprocess, the present inventor modeled TFTs on a plastic substrate andmeasured how much the substrate was expandable or shrinkable in theinterval between two photolithographic process steps that were performedunder mutually different combinations of conditions. As a result, Ifound that the substrate was expandable or shrinkable between the twophotolithographic process steps requiring mask alignment at about 500 to1000 ppm.

If a plastic substrate with a diagonal size of 5 inches is expandable orshrinkable at that high rate, then the size of the substrate ischangeable by 64 to 128 μm. And when the substrate size is changeable insuch a wide range, no TFTs made by any known method of making an activematrix substrate are operable properly.

I estimated alignment margins allowable by the known structure shown inFIG. 47. FIG. 48 illustrates how an active matrix substrate with thebasic structure shown in FIG. 47 should be laid out where an alignmentmargin, substantially equal to the line width of the data lines 105, isallowed for the substrate. Using this layout, I carried out a computersimulation to obtain substrate expandability that an active matrixsubstrate with the known structure shown in FIG. 47 and a diagonal sizeof 5 inches can cope with. The results are as follows:

TABLE 1 Pixel pitch (μm) Alignment margin (μm) Expandability (ppm) 35024 378 300 19 299 250 14 220 200 9 142where the exposure system is supposed to have an alignment accuracy of±0 μm. As shown in Table 1, an active matrix substrate including pixelswith a pixel pitch of 250 μm, for example, allows an alignment margin ofonly ±14 μm or less. An active matrix substrate allowing such a narrowalignment margin can barely cope with a substrate expandability of 220ppm or less.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, none of the knownstructures allows for preparing an active matrix substrate using aplastic substrate. So there has been no other choice than using a glasssubstrate with low shock resistance and of a hardly reducible weight foran active matrix substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide (1) an active matrixsubstrate, which can avoid various misalignment-related problems even ifa greatly expandable substrate of plastic, for example, is used as abase substrate for the active matrix substrate and (2) a method ofmaking a substrate of that type.

Another object of this invention is to provide an active matrixsubstrate in which an array of thin-film transistors has been formed ona plastic substrate.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a display devicethat has been fabricated using the active matrix substrate of thepresent invention.

An active matrix substrate according to the present invention includesbase substrate, gate lines, data lines, thin-film transistors and pixelelectrodes. The gate lines are formed on the base substrate. Each of thedata lines crosses all of the gate lines with an insulating filminterposed therebetween. The thin-film transistors are formed over thebase substrate. Each of the thin-film transistors is associated with oneof the gate lines and operates responsive to a signal on the associatedgate line. Each of the pixel electrodes is associated with one of thedata lines and one of the thin-film transistors and is electricallyconnectable to the associated data line by way of the associatedthin-film transistor. In this active matrix substrate, each said pixelelectrode and the associated thin-film transistor are connected togetherby way of a conductive member. And each said pixel electrode crosses oneof the gate lines, while the conductive member for the pixel electrodecrosses another one of the gate lines that is adjacent to the formergate line.

Another active matrix substrate according to the present inventionincludes base substrate, gate lines, storage capacitance lines, datalines, thin-film transistors and pixel electrodes. The gate lines andstorage capacitance lines are formed on the base substrate. Each of thedata lines crosses all of the gate and storage capacitance lines with aninsulating film interposed therebetween. The thin-film transistors areformed over the base substrate. Each of the thin-film transistors isassociated with one of the gate lines and operates responsive to asignal on the associated gate line. Each of the pixel electrodes isassociated with one of the data lines and one of the thin-filmtransistors and is electrically connectable to the associated data lineby way of the associated thin-film transistor. In this active matrixsubstrate, each said pixel electrode and the associated thin-filmtransistor are connected together by way of a conductive member. Andeach said pixel electrode crosses not only one of the gate lines butalso one of the storage capacitance lines, while the conductive memberfor the pixel electrode crosses not only another one of the gate linesthat is adjacent to the former gate line but also another one of thestorage capacitance lines that is adjacent to the former storagecapacitance line.

Still another active matrix substrate according to the present inventionincludes base substrate, gate lines, storage capacitance lines, datalines, thin-film transistors, lower-level pixel electrodes andupper-level pixel electrodes. The gate lines and storage capacitancelines are formed on the base substrate. Each of the data lines crossesall of the gate and storage capacitance lines with a first insulatingfilm interposed therebetween. The thin-film transistors are formed overthe base substrate. Each of the thin-film transistors is associated withone of the gate lines and operates responsive to a signal on theassociated gate line. Each of the lower-level pixel electrodes isassociated with one of the data lines and one of the thin-filmtransistors and is electrically connectable to the associated data lineby way of the associated thin-film transistor. The upper-level pixelelectrodes are located over the lower-level pixel electrodes with asecond insulating film interposed therebetween. Each of the upper-levelpixel electrodes is associated with, and electrically connectable to,one of the lower-level pixel electrodes by way of an associated contacthole. In this active matrix substrate, each said lower-level pixelelectrode and the associated thin-film transistor are connected togetherby way of a conductive member. The data lines, the conductive membersand the lower-level pixel electrodes have all been formed by patterningthe same conductive film. And each said lower-level pixel electrodecrosses not only one of the gate lines but also one of the storagecapacitance lines, while the conductive member for the lower-level pixelelectrode crosses not only another one of the gate lines that isadjacent to the former gate line but also another one of the storagecapacitance lines that is adjacent to the former storage capacitanceline.

Yet another active matrix substrate according to the present inventionincludes base substrate, gate lines, data lines, thin-film transistors,lower-level pixel electrodes and upper-level pixel electrodes. The gatelines are formed on the base substrate. Each of the data lines crossesall of the gate lines with a first insulating film interposedtherebetween. The thin-film transistors are formed over the basesubstrate. Each of the thin-film transistors is associated with one ofthe gate lines and operates responsive to a signal on the associatedgate line. Each of the lower-level pixel electrodes is associated withone of the data lines and one of the thin-film transistors and iselectrically connectable to the associated data line by way of theassociated thin-film transistor. The upper-level pixel electrodes arelocated over the lower-level pixel electrodes with a second insulatingfilm interposed therebetween. Each of the upper-level pixel electrodesis associated with, and electrically connectable to, one of thelower-level pixel electrodes by way of an associated contact hole. Inthis active matrix substrate, each said upper-level pixel electrode andthe associated lower-level pixel electrode together makes up a pixelelectrode, which is connected to the thin-film transistor, associatedwith the lower-level pixel electrode, by way of a conductive member. Thedata lines, the conductive members and the lower-level pixel electrodeshave all been formed by patterning the same conductive film. And eachsaid lower-level pixel electrode crosses one of the gate lines, whilethe conductive member for the lower-level pixel electrode crossesanother one of the gate lines that is adjacent to the former gate line.

Yet another active matrix substrate according to the present inventionincludes base substrate, gate lines, storage capacitance lines, datalines, thin-film transistors, lower-level pixel electrodes andupper-level pixel electrodes. The gate and storage capacitance lines areformed on the base substrate. Each of the data lines crosses all of thegate and storage capacitance lines with a first insulating filminterposed therebetween. The thin-film transistors are formed over thebase substrate. Each of the thin-film transistors is associated with oneof the gate lines and operates responsive to a signal on the associatedgate line. Each of the lower-level pixel electrodes is associated withone of the data lines and one of the thin-film transistors and iselectrically connectable to the associated data line by way of theassociated thin-film transistor. The upper-level pixel electrodes arelocated over the lower-level pixel electrodes with a second insulatingfilm interposed therebetween. Each of the upper-level pixel electrodesis associated with, and electrically connectable to, one of thelower-level pixel electrodes by way of an associated contact hole. Inthis active matrix substrate, each said upper-level pixel electrode andthe associated lower-level pixel electrode together makes up a pixelelectrode, which is connected to the thin-film transistor, associatedwith the lower-level pixel electrode, by way of a conductive member. Thedata lines, the conductive members and the lower-level pixel electrodeshave all been formed by patterning the same conductive film. When one ofthe gate lines crosses associated ones of the lower-level pixelelectrodes, one of the storage capacitance lines, which is adjacent tothe gate line, crosses associated ones of the conductive members. On theother hand, when one of the gate lines crosses associated ones of theconductive members, one of the storage capacitance lines, which isadjacent to the gate line, crosses associated ones of the lower-levelpixel electrodes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the active matrix substratemay further include source electrodes, each said source electrodebranching from one of the data lines and crossing one of the gate lines.An intersection of each said conductive member with associated one ofthe gate lines may be located between an intersection of one of the datalines that is closest to the conductive member and the gate line and anintersection of one of the source electrodes that is closest to theconductive member and the gate line.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a distance between eachsaid conductive member and the data line closest to the conductivemember may be substantially equal to a distance between the conductivemember and the source electrode closest to the conductive member.

In still another embodiment, each said thin-film transistor may have itschannel located substantially at the midpoint between two adjacent onesof the data lines.

In yet another embodiment, the channel of each said thin-film transistormay be covered with one of the upper-level pixel electrodes.

In yet another embodiment, a semiconductor layer for each said thin-filmtransistor may have been self-aligned with the gate line associated withthe thin-film transistor. The data lines and associated ones of theconductive members may cross the semiconductor layer.

In yet another embodiment, the data lines and the conductive members mayextend across the semiconductor layer. The channel regions in thesemiconductor layer may be covered with a channel protective layer thathas been self-aligned with the associated gate line.

In yet another embodiment, side faces of the channel protective layer,which are parallel to a direction in which the data lines and theconductive members extend, may be aligned with outer side faces of thedata lines and the conductive members.

In yet another embodiment, the other side faces of the channelprotective layer, which are parallel to a direction in which the gatelines extend, may be spaced apart from each other by a distance smallerthan the line width of the gate lines.

In yet another embodiment, each said conductive member may extend fromthe pixel electrode, connected to the conductive member, parallel to thedata lines. A distance between a far end of the conductive member and anopposite far end of the pixel electrode, connected to the conductivemember, may be longer than a pitch of the gate lines but less than twiceas long as the gate line pitch.

In yet another embodiment, each of the data lines, the conductivemembers and the pixel electrodes may include a conductive layer that hasbeen formed by patterning the same conductive film.

In yet another embodiment, each of the data lines, the conductivemembers and the pixel electrodes may include a transparent conductivelayer that has been formed by patterning the same transparent conductivefilm. An opaque film may cover the transparent conductive layer includedin each said data line.

In yet another embodiment, the opaque film may be made of a metal thathas an electrical resistivity lower than that of the transparentconductive layer.

In yet another embodiment, in a display area, no parts of the gate anddata lines may protrude parallel to the surface of the base substrate.

In yet another embodiment, the gate lines may be made of a metal withopacity.

In yet another embodiment, each said gate line may have a slit-likeopening that transmits light at least in respective areas where thethin-film transistors are formed.

In yet another embodiment, each said gate line may be divided intomultiple line portions at least in respective areas where the thin-filmtransistors are formed.

In yet another embodiment, when a negative photosensitive resin layer,which has been formed to cover the gate lines, is partially exposed tolight that has been incident thereon through the backside of the basesubstrate, each said line portion may have such a line width as exposingsubstantially all of the negative photosensitive resin layer, which islocated over the line portion, to the light by utilizing diffraction ofthe light.

In yet another embodiment, the data lines may be laid out over the basesubstrate so as to allow the base substrate to expand or shrink lesshorizontally to the data lines than vertically to the data lines.

In yet another embodiment, the gate lines may be extended beyond thedisplay area, and the extension of each said gate line may have a lengthgreater than the gate line pitch.

In yet another embodiment, color filters may have been formed over thepixel electrodes.

In yet another embodiment, the base substrate may be made of plastic.

In yet another embodiment, the base substrate may include, as anintegral part thereof, an optical member for changing the optical pathor polarization of incident light.

Yet another active matrix substrate according to the present inventionincludes plastic substrate, first, second and third gate lines, dataline, first and second pixel electrodes and first and second thin-filmtransistors. The first gate line is formed on the plastic substrate. Thesecond gate line is also formed on the plastic substrate and placedparallel to the first gate line. The third gate line is also formed onthe plastic substrate and placed parallel to the second gate line. Thedata line crosses the first, second and third gate lines with aninsulating film interposed therebetween. The first pixel electrodecrosses the first gate line, while the second pixel electrode crossesthe second gate line. The first thin-film transistor is self-alignedwith the second gate line, while the second thin-film transistor isself-aligned with the third gate line. In this active matrix substrate,the first pixel electrode is connected to the first thin-film transistorby way of a first conductive member that crosses the second gate line.The second pixel electrode is connected to the second thin-filmtransistor by way of a second conductive member that crosses the thirdgate line.

A display device according to the present invention includes: an activematrix substrate according to any of the embodiments of the presentinvention; a counter substrate facing the active matrix substrate; and alight modulating layer interposed between the active matrix and countersubstrates.

A portable electronic unit according to the present invention includesthe display device of the present invention.

An inventive method of making an active matrix substrate includes thesteps of: a) forming a plurality of gate lines on a base substrate; b)depositing an insulating film that covers the gate lines; and c)depositing a semiconductor layer over the insulating film. The methodfurther includes the step of d) forming a positive resist layer over thesemiconductor layer. The method further includes the step of e) exposingthe positive resist layer to light that has been incident thereonthrough the backside of the base substrate and then developing thepositive resist layer exposed, thereby defining a first resist mask overthe gate lines so that the first resist mask is aligned with the gatelines. The method further includes the step of f) removing parts of thesemiconductor layer, which are not covered with the first resist mask,thereby forming a striped semiconductor layer, including portions to besemiconductor regions for thin-film transistors, so that the stripedsemiconductor layer is self-aligned with the gate lines. The methodfurther includes the steps of: g) removing the first resist mask; and h)depositing a conductive film over the striped semiconductor layer. Andthe method further includes the step of i) patterning the conductivefilm using a second resist mask, thereby forming not only a data lineand a pixel electrode, which both cross a first one of the gate lines,but also a conductive member, which extends from the pixel electrodeparallel to the data line and crosses a second one of the gate linesthat is adjacent to the first gate line, and then patterning the stripedsemiconductor layer, thereby defining the semiconductor regions for thethin-film transistors below the data line and the conductive member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step i) may includedefining a resist pattern, including relatively thick and relativelythin portions, as the second resist mask. The relatively thick portionswill define the data line and the conductive member, while therelatively thin portion will define a region between the data line andthe conductive member. The step i) may further include: etching awayparts of the conductive film and the striped semiconductor layer thatare not covered with the resist pattern; removing the relatively thinportion from the resist pattern; and etching away another part of theconductive film, which has been covered with the relatively thin portionof the resist pattern, thereby forming the data line and the conductivemember.

Another inventive method of making an active matrix substrate includesthe steps of: a) forming a plurality of gate lines on a base substrate;b) depositing an insulating film that covers the gate lines; and c)depositing a semiconductor layer over the insulating film. The methodfurther includes the step of d) forming a positive resist layer over thesemiconductor layer. The method further includes the step of e) exposingthe positive resist layer to light that has been incident thereonthrough the backside of the base substrate and then developing thepositive resist layer exposed, thereby defining a first resist mask overthe gate lines so that the first resist mask is aligned with the gatelines. The method further includes the step of f) removing parts of thesemiconductor layer, which are not covered with the first resist mask,thereby forming a striped semiconductor layer, including portions to besemiconductor regions for thin-film transistors, so that the stripedsemiconductor layer is self-aligned with the gate lines. The methodfurther includes the step of: g) removing the first resist mask. Themethod further includes the step of h) depositing a transparentconductive film over the striped semiconductor layer; and i) depositingan opaque film over the transparent conductive film. The method furtherincludes the step of j) patterning the opaque and transparent conductivefilms using a second resist mask, thereby forming not only a data lineand a pixel electrode, which both cross a first one of the gate lines,but also a conductive member, which extends from the pixel electrodeparallel to the data line and crosses a second one of the gate linesthat is adjacent to the first gate line, and then patterning the stripedsemiconductor layer, thereby defining the semiconductor regions for thethin-film transistors below the data line and the conductive member. Themethod further includes the step of k) coating the surface of the basesubstrate with a negative photosensitive resin material. And the methodfurther includes the step of l) exposing the negative photosensitiveresin material to light that has been incident thereon through thebackside of the base substrate, and then developing the negativephotosensitive resin material exposed, thereby removing non-exposedparts of the negative photosensitive resin material and forming a blackmatrix.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in the step l), parts of thenegative photosensitive resin material, which cover the data line, theconductive member and the semiconductor regions for the thin-filmtransistors, may be exposed to light that passes through areas where thegate lines and the opaque film do not exist, thereby covering an areawhere the pixel electrode does not exist with the black matrix.

In another embodiment of the present invention, parts of the opaquefilm, which are not covered with the black matrix, may be etched away,thereby defining a translucent region over the pixel electrode.

In still another embodiment, the step j) may include defining a resistpattern, including relatively thick and relatively thin portions, as thesecond resist mask. The relatively thick portions will define the dataline and the conductive member, while the relatively thin portion willdefine a region between the data line and the conductive member. Thestep j) may further include: etching away parts of the opaque film, thetransparent conductive film and the striped semiconductor layer that arenot covered with the resist pattern; removing the relatively thinportion from the resist pattern; and etching away another part of theopaque film and the transparent conductive film, which has been coveredwith the relatively thin portion of the resist pattern, thereby formingthe data line and the conductive member.

Still another inventive method of making an active matrix substrateincludes the steps of: a) forming a plurality of gate lines on a basesubstrate; b) depositing an insulating film that covers the gate lines;and c) depositing a semiconductor layer over the insulating film. Themethod further includes the step of d) forming a channel protectivelayer over the semiconductor layer. The method further includes the stepof e) forming a first positive resist layer over the channel protectivelayer. The method further includes the step of f) exposing the firstpositive resist layer to light that has been incident thereon throughthe backside of the base substrate and then developing the firstpositive resist layer exposed, thereby defining a first resist mask overthe gate lines so that the first resist mask is aligned with the gatelines. The method further includes the step of g) removing parts of thechannel protective layer, which are not covered with the first resistmask, thereby patterning and self-aligning the channel protective layerwith the gate lines so that the patterned channel protective layer has aline width narrower than that of the gate lines. The method furtherincludes the steps of: h) depositing a contact layer over the patternedchannel protective layer and the semiconductor layer; and i) forming asecond positive resist layer over the contact layer. The method furtherincludes the step of j) exposing the second positive resist layer tolight that has been incident thereon through the backside of the basesubstrate and then developing the second positive resist layer exposed,thereby defining a second resist mask over the gate lines so that thesecond resist mask is aligned with the gate lines. The method furtherincludes the step of k) removing parts of the contact and semiconductorlayers, which are not covered with the second resist mask, therebyforming a striped contact layer and a striped semiconductor layer,including portions to be semiconductor regions for thin-filmtransistors, so that the striped contact and semiconductor layers areboth self-aligned with the gate lines. The method further includes thesteps of: l) removing the second resist mask; and m) depositing aconductive film over the striped contact layer. And the method furtherincludes the step of n) patterning the conductive film using a thirdresist mask, thereby forming not only a data line and a pixel electrode,which both cross a first one of the gate lines, but also a conductivemember, which extends from the pixel electrode parallel to the data lineand crosses a second one of the gate lines that is adjacent to the firstgate line, and then patterning the striped contact layer, the patteredchannel protective layer and the striped semiconductor layer, therebydefining the semiconductor regions for the thin-film transistors belowthe data line and the conductive member so that the upper surface of thesemiconductor regions is partially covered with the patterned channelprotective layer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step n) may includedefining a resist pattern, including relatively thick and relativelythin portions, as the third resist mask. The relatively thick portionswill define the data line and the conductive member, while therelatively thin portion will define a region between the data line andthe conductive member. The step n) may further include: etching awayparts of the conductive film, the striped contact layer, the patternedchannel protective layer and the striped semiconductor layer that arenot covered with the resist pattern; removing the relatively thinportion from the resist pattern; and etching away another part of theconductive film and contact layer, which has been covered with therelatively thin portion of the resist pattern, thereby forming the dataline and the conductive member that are separated from each other.

Yet another inventive method of making an active matrix substrateincludes the steps of: a) forming a plurality of gate lines on a basesubstrate; b) depositing an insulating film that covers the gate lines;and c) depositing a semiconductor layer over the insulating film. Themethod further includes the step of d) forming a channel protectivelayer over the semiconductor layer. The method further includes the stepof e) forming a positive resist layer over the channel protective layer.The method further includes the step of f) exposing the positive resistlayer to light that has been incident thereon through the backside ofthe base substrate and then developing the positive resist layerexposed, thereby defining a first resist mask over the gate lines sothat the first resist mask is aligned with the gate lines. The methodfurther includes the step of g) removing parts of the channel protectivelayer, which are not covered with the first resist mask, therebypatterning and self-aligning the channel protective layer with the gatelines. The method further includes the steps of: h) depositing a contactlayer over the patterned channel protective layer and the semiconductorlayer; and i) depositing a conductive film over the contact layer. Andthe method further includes the step of j) patterning the conductivefilm using a second resist mask, thereby forming not only a data lineand a pixel electrode, which both cross a first one of the gate lines,but also a conductive member, which extends from the pixel electrodeparallel to the data line and crosses a second one of the gate linesthat is adjacent to the first gate line, and then patterning the contactlayer, the patterned channel protective layer and the semiconductorlayer, thereby defining semiconductor regions for thin-film transistorsbelow the data line and the conductive member so that the upper surfaceof the semiconductor regions are covered with the patterned channelprotective layer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step j) may includedefining a resist pattern, including relatively thick and relativelythin portions, as the second resist mask. The relatively thick portionswill define the data line and the conductive member, while therelatively thin portion will define a region between the data line andthe conductive member. The step j) may further include: etching awayparts of the conductive film, the contact layer, the patterned channelprotective layer and the semiconductor layer that are not covered withthe resist pattern; removing the relatively thin portion from the resistpattern; and etching away another part of the conductive film andcontact layer, which has been covered with the relatively thin portionof the resist pattern, thereby forming the data line and the conductivemember that are separated from each other.

In another embodiment of the present invention, before the contact layeris deposited in the step h), the semiconductor layer may be patternedand self-aligned with the gate lines by exposing the semiconductor layerto light that has been incident thereon through the backside of the basesubstrate.

In still another embodiment, when the part of the conductive film andcontact layer, which has been covered with the relatively thin portionof the resist pattern, is etched away after the relatively thin portionof the resist pattern has been removed, an exposed part of thesemiconductor layer may be etched away to leave the semiconductorregions for the thin-film transistors under the patterned channelprotective layer.

Yet another inventive method of making an active matrix substrateincludes the steps of: a) depositing a semiconductor film over a basesubstrate; and b) depositing a first conductive film over thesemiconductor film. The method further includes the step of c)patterning the first conductive and semiconductor films, thereby forminga plurality of data lines, a plurality of pixel electrodes and aplurality of conductive members so that parts of the semiconductor film,located between each said data line and associated ones of theconductive members, are not removed but left. In this step c), each saidconductive member extends from associated one of the pixel electrodesalong associated one of the data lines. The method further includes thestep of d) depositing an insulating film over the base substrate. Themethod further includes the step of e) depositing a second conductivefilm over the insulating film. And the method further includes the stepof f) patterning the second conductive film, thereby forming a pluralityof gate lines, which cross the data lines, the pixel electrodes and theconductive members, and etching away the parts of the semiconductor filmlocated between each said data line and the associated conductivemembers entirely except some of the parts of the semiconductor film thatare located under the gate lines.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step c) may includedefining a resist mask including relatively thick and relatively thinportions. The relatively thick portions will define the data lines, thepixel electrodes and the conductive members, while each of therelatively thin portions will define a region between associated one ofthe data lines and associated ones of the conductive members. The stepc) may further include: etching away parts of the first conductive andsemiconductor films that are not covered with the resist mask; removingthe relatively thin portions from the resist mask; and etching awayother parts of the first conductive film, which have been covered withthe relatively thin portions of the resist mask.

Yet another inventive method of making an active matrix substrateincludes the steps of: a) forming a gate electrode on a base substrate;b) forming a gate insulating film that covers the gate electrode; and c)depositing a semiconductor layer over the gate insulating film. Themethod further includes the step of d) forming a positive resist layerover the semiconductor layer. The method further includes the step of e)exposing the positive resist layer to light that has been incidentthereon through the backside of the base substrate and then developingthe positive resist layer exposed, thereby defining a first resist maskover the gate electrode so that the first resist mask is aligned withthe gate electrode. The method further includes the step of f) removingparts of the semiconductor layer, which are not covered with the firstresist mask, thereby patterning and self-aligning the semiconductorlayer with the gate electrode so that the patterned semiconductor layerincludes a semiconductor region for a thin-film transistor. The methodfurther includes the step of g) removing the first resist mask. Themethod further includes the step of h) depositing a conductive film overthe patterned semiconductor layer. And the method further includes thestep of i) patterning the conductive film using a second resist mask,thereby forming source and drain electrodes, which both cross the gateelectrode, and then further patterning the patterned semiconductorlayer, thereby defining the semiconductor region for the thin-filmtransistor below the source and drain electrodes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step i) may includedefining a resist pattern, including relatively thick and relativelythin portions, as the second resist mask. The relatively thick portionswill define the source and drain electrodes, while the relatively thinportion will define a region between the source and drain electrodes.The step i) may further include: etching away parts of the conductivefilm and the patterned semiconductor layer that are not covered with theresist pattern; removing the relatively thin portion from the resistpattern; and etching away another part of the conductive film, which hasbeen covered with the relatively thin portion of the resist pattern,thereby forming the source and drain electrodes.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the source electrode maybe a part of a data line that extends linearly and crosses the gateelectrode, while the drain electrode may extend from a pixel electrodeparallel to the data line.

Yet another inventive method of making an active matrix substrateincludes the steps of: a) forming a gate electrode on a base substrate;b) forming a gate insulating film that covers the gate electrode; and c)depositing a semiconductor layer over the gate insulating film. Themethod further includes the step of d) forming a channel protectivelayer over the semiconductor layer. The method further includes the stepof e) forming a first positive resist layer over the channel protectivelayer. The method further includes the step of f) exposing the firstpositive resist layer to light that has been incident thereon throughthe backside of the base substrate and then developing the firstpositive resist layer exposed, thereby defining a first resist mask overthe gate electrode so that the first resist mask is aligned with thegate electrode. The method further includes the step of g) removingparts of the channel protective layer, which are not covered with thefirst resist mask, thereby patterning and self-aligning the channelprotective layer with the gate electrode. The method further includesthe step of h) depositing a contact layer over the patterned channelprotective layer and the semiconductor layer. The method furtherincludes the step of i) defining a second resist mask over the gateelectrode. The method further includes the step of j) removing parts ofthe contact and semiconductor layers, which are not covered with thesecond resist mask, thereby patterning and self-aligning the contactlayer, the patterned channel protective layer and the semiconductorlayer, including a portion to be a semiconductor region for a thin-filmtransistor, with the gate electrode. The method further includes thestep of k) removing the second resist mask. The method further includesthe step of l) depositing a conductive film over the patterned contactlayer. And the method further includes the step of m) patterning theconductive film using a third resist mask, thereby forming source anddrain electrodes, which both cross the gate electrode, and furtherpatterning the patterned contact, channel protective and semiconductorlayers, thereby defining the semiconductor region for the thin-filmtransistor below the source and drain electrodes so that the uppersurface of the semiconductor region is partially covered with thepatterned channel protective layer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step m) may includedefining a resist pattern, including relatively thick and relativelythin portions, as the third resist mask. The relatively thick portionswill define the source and drain electrodes, while the relatively thinportion will define a region between the source and drain electrodes.The step m) may further include: etching away parts of the conductivefilm and the patterned contact and semiconductor layers that are notcovered with the resist pattern; removing the relatively thin portionfrom the resist pattern; and etching away another part of the conductivefilm and contact layer, which has been covered with the relatively thinportion of the resist pattern, thereby forming the source and drainelectrodes that are separated from each other.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the channel protectivelayer may be patterned to have a width narrower than that of thesemiconductor region.

Yet another inventive method of making an active matrix substrateincludes the steps of: a) forming a gate electrode on a base substrate;b) forming a gate insulating film that covers the gate electrode; and c)depositing a semiconductor layer over the gate insulating film. Themethod further includes the step of d) forming a channel protectivelayer over the semiconductor layer. The method further includes the stepof e) forming a positive resist layer over the channel protective layer.The method further includes the step of f) exposing the positive resistlayer to light that has been incident thereon through the backside ofthe base substrate and then developing the positive resist layerexposed, thereby defining a first resist mask over the gate electrode sothat the first resist mask is aligned with the gate electrode. Themethod further includes the step of g) removing parts of the channelprotective layer, which are not covered with the first resist mask,thereby patterning and self-aligning the channel protective layer withthe gate electrode. The method further includes the step of h)depositing a contact layer over the patterned channel protective layerand the semiconductor layer. The method further includes the step of i)depositing a conductive film over the contact layer. And the methodfurther includes the step of j) patterning the conductive film using asecond resist mask, thereby forming source and drain electrodes, whichboth cross the gate electrode, and further patterning the contact,channel protective and semiconductor layers, thereby defining asemiconductor region for a thin-film transistor below the source anddrain electrodes so that the upper surface of the semiconductor regionis partially covered with the patterned channel protective layer.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step j) may includedefining a resist pattern, including relatively thick and relativelythin portions, as the second resist mask. The relatively thick portionswill define the source and drain electrodes, while the relatively thinportion will define a region between the source and drain electrodes.The step j) may further include: etching away parts of the conductivefilm and the contact and semiconductor layers that are not covered withthe resist pattern; removing the relatively thin portion from the resistpattern; and etching away another part of the conductive film andcontact layer, which has been covered with the relatively thin portionof the resist pattern, thereby forming the source and drain electrodesthat are separated from each other.

In another embodiment of the present invention, before the contact layeris deposited in the step h), the semiconductor layer may be patternedand self-aligned with the gate electrode by exposing the semiconductorlayer to light that has been incident thereon through the backside ofthe base substrate.

In still another embodiment, when the part of the conductive film andcontact layer, which has been covered with the relatively thin portionof the resist pattern, is etched away after the relatively thin portionof the resist pattern has been removed, an exposed part of thesemiconductor layer may be etched away to leave the semiconductor regionfor the thin-film transistor under the channel protective layer.

A thin-film transistor according to the present invention includessubstrate, gate electrode, gate insulating film, semiconductor layer,source electrode and drain electrode. The gate electrode is formed onthe substrate. The gate insulating film is formed over the gateelectrode. The semiconductor layer is formed over the gate electrodewith the gate insulating film interposed therebetween. The sourceelectrode crosses the semiconductor layer. And the drain electrodecrosses the semiconductor layer. In this thin-film transistor, sidefaces of the semiconductor layer, which are parallel to a direction inwhich the source and drain electrodes extend, are aligned with outerside faces of the source and drain electrodes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the other side faces of thesemiconductor layer, which are parallel to a direction in which the gateelectrode extends, may be aligned with side faces of the gate electrode.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a contact layer mayexist between the source electrode and the semiconductor layer andbetween the drain electrode and the semiconductor layer.

Another thin-film transistor according to the present invention includessubstrate, gate electrode, gate insulating film, semiconductor layer,channel protective layer, source electrode and drain electrode. The gateelectrode is formed on the substrate. The gate insulating film is formedover the gate electrode. The semiconductor layer is formed over the gateelectrode with the gate insulating film interposed therebetween. Thechannel protective layer is formed on the semiconductor layer. Thesource electrode crosses the channel protective layer. And the drainelectrode crosses the channel protective layer. In this thin-filmtransistor, side faces of the channel protective layer, which areparallel to a direction in which the source and drain electrodes extend,are aligned with outer side faces of the source and drain electrodes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the other side faces of thechannel protective layer, which are parallel to a direction in which thegate electrode extends, may be spaced apart from each other by adistance smaller than the line width of the gate electrode.

In another embodiment of the present invention, side faces of thesemiconductor layer, which are parallel to the direction in which thegate electrode extends, may be aligned with the side faces of the gateelectrode.

In still another embodiment, the other side faces of the semiconductorlayer, which are parallel to the direction in which the source and drainelectrodes extend, may be aligned with the outer side faces of thesource and drain electrodes.

In yet another embodiment, a contact layer may exist between the sourceelectrode and the semiconductor layer and between the drain electrodeand the semiconductor layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a layout for an activematrix substrate 100 according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating part of the display area of theactive matrix substrate 100 to a larger scale.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of the substrate 100respectively taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 3C is a perspective view illustrating semiconductor layers on thegate line.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary layout effectively applicable to thesubstrate 100 where the plastic substrate expands in an interval afterthe gate lines have been formed and before the drain and pixelelectrodes are formed by a patterning process; and

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary layout effectively applicable to thesubstrate 100 where the plastic substrate shrinks in that interval.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary layout applicable to the substrate 100even if it is not clear whether the plastic substrate expands or shrinksin the interval after the gate lines have been formed and before thedrain and pixel electrodes are formed by the patterning process.

FIGS. 6A through 6D are plan views illustrating two pixel regions inmain process steps.

FIGS. 7A through 7L are cross-sectional views taken along the lines A-A′and B-B′ shown in FIGS. 6A through 6D.

FIG. 8A is a plan view illustrating part of a resist mask for use indefining the data lines, drain electrodes and pixel electrodes to alarger scale; and

FIGS. 8B, 8C and 8D are cross-sectional views of the mask respectivelytaken along the lines C-C′, D-D′ and E-E′ shown in FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the resist maskshown in FIG. 8A.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically illustrating how the resistmask shown in FIG. 8A looks after having been ashed.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram illustrating how to electrodeposit colorfilters for the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view illustrating exemplary alignment markers for thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating relationships between the alignmentmargin (or substrate expansion/shrinkage margins) Δy and the pixelpitch.

FIG. 14 is a plan view schematically illustrating a layout for an activematrix substrate 200 according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are cross-sectional views of the substrate 200respectively taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIG. 14.

FIGS. 16A through 16E are plan views illustrating two pixel regions inmain process steps of a method of making the active matrix substrate 200in accordance with the second embodiment.

FIGS. 17A through 17F are cross-sectional views taken along the linesA-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIGS. 16A through 16E.

FIG. 18 is a plan view schematically illustrating a layout for an activematrix substrate 300 according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 19A and 19B are plan views illustrating the shapes of a blackmatrix 35 in a region where a TFT will be formed; and

FIGS. 19C and 19D are cross-sectional views respectively taken along thelines F-F′ shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B.

FIGS. 20A through 20E are plan views illustrating two pixel regions inmain process steps of a method of making an active matrix substrate 400in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 21A through 21F are cross-sectional views taken along the linesA-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIGS. 20A through 20E.

FIG. 22 is a plan view schematically illustrating a layout for an activematrix substrate 500 according to a fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 is a plan view illustrating part of the display area of theactive matrix substrate 500 to a larger scale.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 500 taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 500 taken along theline B-B′ shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 26 is a plan view illustrating, to a larger scale, part of thedisplay area of an active matrix substrate 600 according to a sixthembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 600 taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 600 taken along theline B-B′ shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 29 is a plan view illustrating, to a larger scale, part of thedisplay area of an active matrix substrate 700 according to a modifiedexample of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 700 taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 29.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 700 taken along theline B-B′ shown in FIG. 29.

FIG. 32 is a plan view illustrating, to a larger scale, part of thedisplay area of an active matrix substrate 800 according to a seventhembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 800 taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 32.

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 800 taken along theline B-B′ shown in FIG. 32.

FIG. 35 is a plan view illustrating, to a larger scale, part of thedisplay area of an active matrix substrate 900 according to an eighthembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 900 taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 35.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 900 taken along theline B-B′ shown in FIG. 35.

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 900 taken along theline C-C′ shown in FIG. 35.

FIG. 39 is a plan view illustrating, to a larger scale, part of thedisplay area of an active matrix substrate 1000 according to a ninthembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 1000 taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 39.

FIGS. 41A, 41B and 41C are plan views illustrating two pixel regions inmain process steps of a method of making an active matrix substrate 1100according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 42A through 42E are cross-sectional views of the substrate 1100taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIGS. 41A through 41C.

FIG. 43 is a plan view illustrating a known active-matrix-addressedliquid crystal display device.

FIG. 44 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a known liquid crystaldisplay panel.

FIG. 45A is a plan view illustrating a layout for a unit pixel regiondefined on a known active matrix substrate; and

FIG. 45B is a cross-sectional view of the pixel region taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 45A.

FIG. 46A is a plan view illustrating a layout for a unit pixel regiondefined on another known active matrix substrate; and

FIG. 46B is a cross-sectional view of the pixel region taken along theline A-A′ shown in FIG. 46A.

FIG. 47 is a plan view illustrating a layout for a unit pixel regiondefined on still another known active matrix substrate.

FIG. 48 is a plan view illustrating a layout for use to define arelationship between the pixel pitch and the alignment margin for yetanother known active matrix substrate.

FIG. 49 is a plan view illustrating an intersection between the gate anddata lines 102 and 105 in a known active matrix substrate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiment 1

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the inventive active matrix substratewill be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3C.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a layout for an active matrix substrate 100according to the first embodiment is illustrated schematically.

The active matrix substrate 100 includes: an insulating substrate 1 of aplastic like polyether sulfone (PES), which will be herein referred toas a “plastic substrate”; and an array of thin-film transistors (TFTs)formed on the plastic substrate 1. The array of TFTs will be hereinreferred to as a “TFT array”.

Over the plastic substrate 1, multiple gate lines 2 and multiple datalines 5 are arranged so as to cross each other at right angles. The gatelines 2 belong to a first layer located on the plastic substrate 1,while the data lines 5 belong to a second layer located over the firstlayer. Also, the gate and data lines 2 and 5 are mutually isolatedelectrically by an insulating film (not shown in FIG. 1) interposedbetween the first and second layers. In FIG. 1, just seven gate lines 2and eight data lines 5 are illustrated for the sake of simplicity.Actually, though, a huge number of gate lines 2 and a great many datalines 5 are arranged on the substrate 1 to form a matrix.

In the areas where the gate and data lines 2 and 5 cross each other,TFTs (not shown in FIG. 1) have been formed. In addition, a plurality ofpixel electrodes 14, each of which is electrically connected toassociated one of the data lines 5 by way of associated one of the TFTs,are arranged so as to overlap the gate lines 2.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, shown is a layout for part of the displayarea of the active matrix substrate 100 to a larger scale. Specifically,FIG. 2 illustrates two vertically adjacent pixel regions belonging tothe same column of pixels.

As shown in FIG. 2, a long conductive member 9 has been extendedparallel to the data lines 5 from the pixel electrode 14 that has beendisposed to overlap one of the gate lines 2. The direction in which theconductive member 9 extends is Y-direction in FIG. 2. The conductivemember 9 serves as a drain electrode for the TFT 10 and electricallyconnects the pixel electrode 14 and TFT 10 together.

In the illustrated embodiment, a semiconductor layer for each TFT 10 isself-aligned with the associated gate line 2, and the data lines 5 andconductive members (or drain electrodes) 9 are arranged to extend acrossthe semiconductor layer. As shown in FIG. 2, the drain electrode 9,connected to the TFT 10 circled, crosses the lower one of two verticallyadjacent gate lines 2, while the pixel electrode 14, connected to thedrain electrode 9, crosses the upper gate line 2. That is to say, eachpair of drain and pixel electrodes 9 and 14 crosses mutually differentand vertically adjacent gate lines 2. In the example illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, the gate lines 2 are selectively driven sequentially from+Y toward −Y. Accordingly, the pixel electrode 14 is disposed to crossthe upper gate line 2 that is selectively driven earlier than the lowergate line 2. On the other hand, the drain electrode 9, extending fromthe pixel electrode 14, is disposed to cross the lower gate line 2 thatis selectively driven next to the upper gate line 2. In this case, astorage capacitance is formed between the pixel electrode 14 and thegate line 2 located under the pixel electrode 14. In the example shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, the gate lines 2 are supposed to be driven from +Ytoward −Y by a line sequential method. Alternatively, the gate lines 2may also be driven from +Y toward −Y by an interlaced method or from −Ytoward +Y by a line sequential method.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3A through 3B, illustrated are cross-sectionalviews of the substrate 100 respectively taken along the lines A-A′ andB-B′ shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3C is a perspective view illustrating thegate line 2 and parts of the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 for the TFT 10that are located on the gate line 2.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the TFT 10 of the first embodiment has a multilayerstructure including gate line 2 (serving as its gate electrode), gateinsulating film 4, i-semiconductor layer 6 and doped semiconductor layer7 that have been stacked in this order on the substrate 1. In theillustrated embodiment, the i-semiconductor layer 6 is made of non-dopedamorphous silicon, while the doped semiconductor layer 7 is made ofn⁺-type microcrystalline silicon that has been heavily doped with ann-type dopant such as phosphorus (P). The data line 5 and drainelectrode 9 are electrically connected to source/drain regions in thesemiconductor layer 6 by way of the doped semiconductor layer 7 actingas a contact layer. As can be easily understood, part of the data line 5(i.e., that part crossing the gate line 2) extending linearly serves asa source electrode 8 for the TFT 10.

As shown in FIG. 3C, part 31 of the semiconductor layer 6 locatedbetween the source/drain regions S and D serves as a channel region,over which no doped semiconductor layer 7 exists. In the illustratedembodiment, the TFT 10 is implemented as a channel-etched bottom-gatethin-film transistor. The upper surface of the channel region in thesemiconductor layer 6 is etched shallow when that part of the dopedsemiconductor layer 7 is removed.

In the illustrated embodiment, side faces of the semiconductor layers 6and 7, which are parallel to the direction in which the gate line 2extends, are “aligned” with the side faces of the gate line 2. Thisstructure is realized by a self-alignment process utilizing backsideexposure technique as will be described later. On the other hand, theother side faces of the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 are “aligned” withthe outer side faces of the data line 5 and drain electrode 9. Astructure like this is realized if not only the data line 5 and drainelectrode 9 but also the semiconductor layers 6 and 7, located under thedata line 5 and drain electrode 9, are formed by a patterning processusing the same mask. As used herein, an “aligned” state herein refers tonot just an ideal situation where a pattern edge belonging to one layeris completely matched with an associated pattern edge belonging toanother layer but also a situation where these edges are just roughlymatched, and somewhat misaligned, with each other. This “misalignment”is not caused by mask-to-mask placement error, but rather by a possiblevariation in the width of etched portions of multiple layers beingpatterned using the same mask (e.g., resist mask).

In view of this possible misalignment, an “aligned” state herein refersto a situation where multiple patterns belonging to mutually differentlayers are matched with each other to such a degree as not beingaffected by a mask-to-mask placement error.

Next, referring to FIG. 3B, it can be seen that the semiconductor layers6 and 7 also exist over the gate line 2 even in a region where the pixelelectrode 14 has been formed. However, as shown in FIG. 3C, part of thesemiconductor layers 6 and 7 existing in the region where the pixelelectrode 14 has been formed is spaced apart from another part of thesemiconductor layers 6 and 7 for the TFT 10. Thus, the former part ofthe semiconductor layers 6 and 7 does not constitute any parasitictransistor. Accordingly, no crosstalk will be observable between a pairof pixels belonging to the same row (or gate line).

In the illustrated embodiment, the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 andpixel electrodes 14 are all made of a transparent conductive layer thathas been obtained by patterning a single transparent electrode film, andall belong to the same layer. Also, the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9and pixel electrodes 14 are covered with a passivation film 11, on whichcolor filters 33 are formed.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the drain electrode 9, connecting the pixelelectrode 14 to the TFT 10, extends parallel to the data lines 5 fromthe pixel electrode 14 and crosses the lower gate line 2. The TFT 10 tobe connected to the drain electrode 9 is selectively driven (orswitched) through the lower gate line 2. The drain electrode 9 should belaid out so as not to cross any gate lines 2 other than the associatedone (i.e., the lower gate line 2 shown in FIG. 2). That is to say, thedistance between the lower end of the drain electrode 9 (i.e., the endin the −Y direction shown in FIG. 2) and the opposite edge of the pixelelectrode 14 (i.e., the edge in the +Y direction shown in FIG. 2) is setlonger than, but less than twice as long as, the gate line pitch. In aknown active matrix substrate on the other hand, the distance betweenthe end of the drain electrode 109 and the opposite edge of the pixelelectrode 114 is shorter than the gate line pitch as shown in FIG. 46A.

Next, it will be further detailed with reference to FIG. 2 how the drainand pixel electrodes 9 and 14 should be laid out.

The drain electrode 9 shown in FIG. 2 is made up of connection 15 andextension 16. More specifically, the connection 15 is a short portionthat protrudes from the left one of the two corners of the pixelelectrode 14 facing the −Y direction (i.e., lower left corner) towardthe data line 5 (i.e., in the −X direction). On the other hand, theextension 16 is an elongated portion that extends parallel to the datalines 5 downward (i.e., in the −Y direction) from the connection 15.Suppose the distance between the lower end of the drain electrode 9facing the −Y direction and the edge of the associated pixel electrode14 facing the −Y direction is defined as the “length L_(d)” of the drainelectrode 9. Then, the length L_(d) of the drain electrode 9 is given byLd=P _(pitch) −DD _(gap) −Y _(con)  (1)where P_(pitch) is the pixel pitch, DD_(gap) is the gap between thedrain electrodes 9 and Y_(con) is the width of the connection 15.

After the gate lines 2 have been formed at a predetermined pitch on theplastic substrate 1, the plastic substrate 1 might expand or shrink toomuch to expect the actual gate line pitch. Even so, according to thearrangement shown in FIG. 2, the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 andpixel electrodes 14 can be laid out to cross the gate lines 2 just asoriginally designed.

The greater the length L_(d) of the drain electrode 9, the greater themargin allowed for aligning the drain electrode 9 (or pixel electrode14) with the gate line 2. Where the pixel pitch P_(pitch) is constant,the DD_(gap) and Y_(con) values should be as small as possible toincrease the length L_(d) of the drain electrode 9. However, theDD_(gap) and Y_(con) values cannot be reduced to less than certain lowerlimits because these values are defined by the photolithography andetching techniques applicable to the process step of patterning thetransparent conductive film. To electrically isolate the pixelelectrodes 14 from each other as intended and to prevent the connection15 from decreasing its width too much or being cut off unintentionally,a sufficient etching margin should be left for the patterning processstep.

Normally, the gap PP_(gap) between adjacent pixel electrodes 14 is setto a minimum possible value to increase the aperture ratio as much aspossible. Accordingly, to maximize the length L_(d) of the drainelectrode 9, the drain electrode gap DD_(gap) should be set equal to thepixel electrode gap PP_(gap). Then, the length L_(d) of the drainelectrode 9 is given byL _(d) =P _(pitch) −PP _(gap) −Y _(con)  (2)

The layout illustrated in FIG. 2 substantially meets this Equation (2).However, the length L_(d) of the drain electrode 9 does not have to begiven by Equation (2), but rather may be any value so long as anecessary alignment margin is affordable.

It should be noted that the size Y_(pix) of the pixel electrode 14 asmeasured along the Y-axis is given byY _(pix) =P _(pitch) −PP _(gap)  (3)

As for the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the following Equation (4) canbe derived from Equations (2) and (3):L _(d) =Y _(pix) −Y _(con)  (4)

The alignment margin ΔY for the gate line 2 and drain electrode 9 (orpixel electrode 14) is given byΔY=L _(d) −PP _(gap) −G _(width)  (5)where G_(width) is the width of the gate line 2.

If it is known that the plastic substrate 1 shrinks or expands after thegate lines 2 have been formed and before a photolithographic process iscarried out to form the drain electrodes 9 (or pixel electrodes 14),then the pixels at the farthest (i.e., upper or lower) end of thedisplay area should preferably be allowed the greatest alignment margin.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary layout applicable to a situation wherethe plastic substrate 1 expands. In the layout illustrated in FIG. 4A,the TFT 10 and its associated gate line 2 are overlapped with the edge9E of the drain electrode 9 and the vicinity thereof in the pixellocated at the end of the display area in the −Y direction. In theexample shown in FIG. 4A, when the plastic substrate 1 expands, the gateline pitch will exceed the pixel pitch. Accordingly, the closer to thefarthest end in the +Y direction a pixel, the greater the shift of theintersection between the drain electrode 9 and its associated gate line2 from the edge 9E of the drain electrode 9. In the layout of thisembodiment, however, the alignment margin ΔY allowed is great enough toalmost always exceed that intersection shift. Thus, even in the pixel(not shown) located at the farthest end of the display area in the +Ydirection, the drain electrode 9 (or pixel electrode 14) still can crossthe associated gate line 2 within the predetermined range.

On the other hand, FIG. 4B illustrates a situation where the plasticsubstrate 1 shrinks. In the layout shown in FIG. 4B, the gate line 2 isoverlapped with the edge 14E of the pixel electrode 14 and the vicinitythereof in the pixel located at the end of the display area in the −Ydirection. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, when the plastic substrate 1shrinks, the gate line pitch will get smaller than the pixel pitch.Accordingly, the closer to the farthest end in the +Y direction a pixel,the greater the shift of the intersection between the pixel electrode 14and its associated gate line 2 from the edge 14E of the pixel electrode14. In the layout of this embodiment, however, the alignment margin ΔYallowed is great enough to almost always exceed that intersection shift.Thus, even in the pixel (not shown) located at the farthest end of thedisplay area in the +Y direction, the drain electrode 9 (or pixelelectrode 14) still can cross the associated gate line 2 within thepredetermined range.

To cope with both expansion and shrinkage of the plastic substrate 1,the vertical center of each drain electrode 9 should be as close to thecenterline of the associated gate line 2 as possible around the centerarea of the plastic substrate 1 as shown in FIG. 5.

In this case, the alignment margin ±Δy is given by±Δy=±(ΔY/2−dY)  (6)where dY is the alignment accuracy of the exposure system used.

As described above, in the layout for the first embodiment, even if thegate line pitch has increased or decreased considerably due to theexpansion or shrinkage of the plastic substrate 1, a sufficientalignment margin is still allowed. Accordingly, no matter where the TFTs10 are formed on the substrate, the variation in transistorcharacteristics is suppressible and the non-uniformity of parasiticcapacitance distribution can be eliminated from the substrate plane.

It should be noted that there is no concern about misalignment among thedata lines 5, drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14 because thesemembers 5, 9 and 14 are all formed by patterning the same transparentconductive film.

In a known active matrix substrate, the intersection 80 between a dataline 105 and a gate line 102 normally has its width decreased to reducethe parasitic capacitance formed around the intersection 80. Incontrast, in the layout of the first embodiment, the side faces of thegate and data lines 2 and 5 have no concave or convex portions withinthe display area as shown in FIG. 2. In such a layout, even if the datalines 5 have been misaligned with the gate lines 2, variations incharacteristics of the TFTs 10, including gate-drain capacitance C_(gd),ON-state current, capacitance at the gate/data line intersection andstorage capacitance, are still suppressible.

Hereinafter, a method of making the active matrix substrate 100 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 6A through 6D and FIGS. 7Athrough 7L. FIGS. 6A through 6D are plan views illustrating two pixelregions in two main process steps. FIGS. 7A through 7L illustratecross-sectional views taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIGS.6A through 6D.

First, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 7A, multiple gate lines 2 are formed ona plastic substrate 1. The gate lines 2 may be formed by depositing atantalum (Ta) film, for example, to a thickness of about 200 nm on theplastic substrate 1 by a sputtering process, for instance, and then bypatterning the Ta film by photolithographic and etching processes. Thepattern of the gate lines 2 is defined by a (first) mask for use in thephotolithographic process. The width G_(width) of the gate lines 2 maybe about 4.0 to 20 μm, for example. On the other hand, the pitch of thegate lines 2 (i.e., gate line pitch) may be set to somewhere betweenabout 150 and about 200 μm in the photolithographic process. However,the gate line pitch will have varied from the setting by about 500 to1000 ppm until another photolithographic process is carried out to formthe pixel electrodes 14 and so on. This is because the plastic substrate1 expands or shrinks due to heat or moisture through the subsequentfabrication process steps as described above.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, a gate insulating film 4 of silicon nitride(SiN_(x)) is deposited to a thickness of about 200 to 500 nm over theplastic substrate 1, including the gate lines 2, by a chemical vapordeposition (CVD) process, for example. Then, non-doped amorphous siliconlayer (i.e., an intrinsic semiconductor layer) 6 and anothersemiconductor layer 7, doped with an n-type dopant like phosphorus (P),are stacked in this order to respective thicknesses of about 100 to 200μm and about 10 to 50 μm over the gate insulating film 4. Thei-semiconductor layer 6 may also be made of polycrystalline ormicrocrystalline silicon, not amorphous silicon. Also, the semiconductorlayer 6 may contain a very small amount of inevitable impurities.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7C, a photolithographic process iscarried out. Specifically, a positive resist film 90 is applied onto thedoped semiconductor layer 7 and then exposed to light that has beenincident thereon through the backside of the plastic substrate 1. Inthis process step, the gate lines 2 with opacity serve as a sort ofoptical mask. Accordingly, parts of the resist film 90 that are locatedover the gate lines 2 are not exposed to the light, while the otherparts thereof, under which no gate lines 2 exist, are exposed to thelight. Thereafter, the resist film 90 exposed is developed. As a result,a resist mask 90 having the same planar layout as that of the gate lines2 is formed over the gate lines 2 as shown in FIG. 7D. Then, the dopedand intrinsic semiconductor layers 7 and 6 are etched in this orderwhile being masked with this resist mask 90, thereby patterning andself-aligning the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 with the gate lines 2 asshown in FIG. 7E.

FIG. 6B is a plan view illustrating the doped semiconductor layer 7 thathas been patterned and self-aligned with the gate lines 2. Although notshown in FIG. 6B, the i-semiconductor layer 6 and gate lines 2 arelocated right under the doped semiconductor layer 7. At this point intime, the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 have not yet been divided intomultiple portions for pixels, but extend in thin stripes over the gatelines 2. It should be noted that the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 mayhave their width increased or decreased (i.e., not equal to the width ofthe gate lines 2) by controlling the exposure and/or etching conditions.

In the illustrated embodiment, the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 arepatterned by the backside exposure process, so the resultant TFTs 10will be located over the gate lines 2 (see FIG. 2). Normally, wheresemiconductor layers for TFTs are formed after the gate lines have beenformed, the pattern of the semiconductor layers should be aligned highlyaccurately with the gate lines. However, a plastic substrate will oftenexpand or shrink considerably to increase the misalignment between thegate lines and semiconductor layers. For that reason, a TFT array on aplastic substrate is hard to realize by any known process. In contrast,where the backside exposure process is carried out in accordance withthe method of this embodiment, there is no need to carry out the processstep of aligning the pattern of the semiconductor layer 6 with the gatelines 2. So the alignment margin does not have to be considered anymore.

In the illustrated embodiment, the gate lines are made of Ta.Alternatively, the gate lines may also be made of any other electricallyconductive material with opacity. Anyway, the material adopted shouldhave some opacity to carry out the backside exposure processsuccessfully. Examples of other preferable gate line materials includeAl, Al alloys, stack of Mo and Al films, stack of TiN, Al and Ti filmsand stack of TaN, Ta and TaN films. These materials are preferablebecause they have relatively low electrical resistivities and areadaptable to this fabrication process very easily.

Next, the resist film 90 is removed from the upper surface of the dopedsemiconductor layer 7. Then, as shown in FIG. 7F, a transparentconductive film 91 of indium tin oxide (ITO) is deposited over theplastic substrate 1. The transparent conductive film 91 does not have tobe made of ITO, but may be made of any other electrically conductivematerial that can transmit visible light sufficiently. For example, thetransparent conductive film 91 may be made of IXO.

Thereafter, photolithographic and etching processes will be carried out,thereby patterning the transparent conductive film 91 into data lines 5,drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14. The layout of the data lines5, drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14 is defined by a (second)mask for use in this photolithographic process. Hereinafter, it will bedescribed in detail how to perform this patterning process using thesecond mask.

First, the resist mask 92 shown in FIGS. 6C and 7G is defined for thephotolithographic process. As shown in FIG. 7G, the resist mask 92includes: relatively thick portions 92 a defining the data lines 5,drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14; and relatively thin portions92 b defining the region between the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9.The thick resist portions 92 a may have a thickness of about 1.5 to 3.0μm, while the thin resist portion 92 b may have a thickness of about 0.3to 1.0 μm.

The shape of this resist mask 92 will be further detailed with referenceto FIGS. 8A through 8D and FIG. 9. FIG. 8A is a plan view illustratingpart of the resist mask 92 to a larger scale. The part of the resistmask 92 shown in FIG. 8A corresponds to the data line 5, the lower endof the drain electrode 9 and the nearest corner of the pixel electrode14. FIGS. 8B, 8C and 8D are cross-sectional views of the resist mask 92respectively taken along the lines C-C′, D-D′ and E-E′ shown in FIG. 8A.FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the resist mask92 shown in FIGS. 8A through 8D.

This resist mask 92 can be defined by selectively exposing parts of theresist film on the substrate 1, which are located between the data line5 and drain electrodes 9, to an appropriate quantity of light. Such anexposure process is called a “half-exposure process”. If the opticalmask used includes slit patterns at appropriate positions, the exposureof this type is easily realizable by utilizing the interference effectsof light.

In the illustrated embodiment, the transparent conductive film 91, dopedsemiconductor layer 7 and i-semiconductor layer 6 are sequentiallyetched using the resist mask 92 in such a special shape. FIG. 7Hillustrates a cross section of the substrate when this etching processis finished. At this point in time, the channel region 31 of the TFT 10is covered with the relatively thin portion 92 b of the resist mask 92.Accordingly, the respective parts of the transparent conductive film 91and doped semiconductor layer 7, which are located over the channelregion 31, are not yet etched at all. As a result of this etchingprocess, the semiconductor layer 6, which has been striped until thisprocess step, is now divided into multiple island-like portions.However, respective parts of the transparent conductive film 91 to bethe data line 5 and drain electrode 9 have not yet been separated fromeach other.

Subsequently, the resist mask 92 has its thickness reduced (e.g., thesurface parts of the resist mask 92 are ashed with oxygen plasma),thereby removing the thin resist portion 92 b, which has covered thechannel 31 of the TFT 10, as shown in FIG. 7I. When the resist mask 92is ashed with oxygen plasma to reduce the thickness thereof, the sidefaces of the resist mask 92 are also ashed away to a depth approximatelyequal to the thickness of the thin resist portion 92 b. However, thethin resist portion 92 b has a thickness of about 0.3 to 1.0 μm, so theside size shift resulting from this ashing process is also about 0.3 to1.0 μm. The size shift within the substrate plane is variable by at mostabout ±20%. Accordingly, the final size is also variable by at mostabout ±0.2 μm. But this size shift would hardly affect the transistorcharacteristics because the transistors have a channel width of as longas about 5 to 10 μm. FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating part ofthe resist mask 92 ashed.

After the thin resist portion 92 b, which has covered the channel region31 of the TFT 10, has been removed in this manner, the transparentconductive film 91 and doped semiconductor layer 7 are etched again. Asa result, the structure shown in FIGS. 6D and 7J can be obtained. Thatis to say, by performing this etching process, respective parts of thetransparent conductive film 91, which have been located between anotherpart thereof to be the data line 5 and other parts thereof to be thedrain electrodes 9, are removed. Consequently, the transparentconductive film 91 is patterned into the data lines 5 and drainelectrodes 9 that have already been separated from each other. As aresult of this etching process, part of the doped semiconductor layer 7,which has been located over the channel region 31, is also removed, andthe exposed surface of the i-semiconductor layer 6 is also etchedpartially. Thereafter, the resist mask 92 (92 a) is removed to obtainthe structure shown in FIG. 7K (see also FIGS. 3A through 3C).

According to the first embodiment, in patterning the transparentconductive film 91, the striped semiconductor layers 6 and 7, locatedbetween the transparent conductive film 91 and gate lines 2, arepatterned into a plurality of islands for respective pixels as shown inFIG. 6C. Thereafter, the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9 are totallyseparated by a self-aligned process, thereby completing the TFTs 10. Inthis manner, the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 can be self-aligned withthe data line 5 and drain electrodes 9, and a mask layer defining thedata line 5 and drain electrodes 9 does not have to be aligned with amask layer defining the semiconductor layers 6 and 7.

Subsequently, the TFTs 10 are covered with a passivation film 11 andthen color filters 33 are electrodeposited on the pixel electrodes 14 asshown in FIGS. 7K and 7L, respectively. In the prior art, color filtersare formed on the counter substrate. In that case, however, if theplastic substrate expands or shrinks, the color filters shift greatlywith respect to the pixel electrodes 14. As a result, normal imagescannot be displayed anymore. To avoid such a problem, the color filters33 are formed on, and self-aligned with, the pixel electrodes 14 inaccordance with this embodiment. Hereinafter, it will be described withreference to FIG. 11 how to electrodeposit the color filters in thisembodiment.

To electrodeposit color filters in the three primary colors of red (R),green (G) and blue (B), the electrodeposition process should beperformed three times for these three colors. That is to say, theelectrodeposition process should be carried out once to form the colorfilters in each of the three primary colors. In the illustratedembodiment, a switching circuit 57 is disposed around the display areaof the active matrix substrate as shown in FIG. 11 to selectivelyelectrodeposit the color filters in each color using the switchingcircuit 57. The switching circuit 57 is comprised of TFTs and lines,which may be formed when the TFTs and lines are formed for the displayarea by the foregoing process.

First, it will be described how to electrodeposit the red color filters.In this case, a control signal in logical one state, for example, isinput to associated ones of the TFTs through a control signal line Rs,thereby turning the TFTs ON. On the other hand, a control signal inlogical zero state, for example, is input to the other TFTs through theother two control signal lines Gs and Bs, thereby turning the TFTs OFF.Then, a voltage V is applied to the switching circuit 57 to initiate theelectrodeposition reaction. In the meantime, a signal with such a levelas turning ON the TFTs 10 in the display area is input through each ofthe gate lines 2. As a result, the voltage V is applied to multiplecolumns 58 of pixel electrodes 14, on which the color red will bedisplayed, and a red dye is electrodeposited on the pixel electrodes 14belonging to the columns 58. In this case, the color filters 33 are alsoformed on the data lines 5 and drain electrodes 9 to which the voltage Vhas been applied (see FIG. 7L).

The same electrodeposition process will be carried out to form colorfilters in each of the other two colors. Then, green and blue dyes willbe electrodeposited on columns 59 of pixel electrodes 14 on which thecolor green will be displayed and on columns 60 of pixel electrodes 14on which the color blue will be displayed, respectively. In this manner,the color filters in the three primary colors can be formed selectivelyand self-aligned with the pixel electrodes 14. As a result, a stripedcolor filter layer, consisting of the color filters 33 in the threeprimary colors, is formed.

If the color filters 33 are made of an insulator, then a decreasedeffective voltage is applicable to the liquid crystal layer of an LCD inoperation. To avoid such a decrease in effective voltage, the colorfilters are made of a conductor in the illustrated embodiment.

As described above, this embodiment needs only two photolithographicprocesses requiring mask alignment because self-aligned processes arecarried out more often. Accordingly, even if the substrate expands orshrinks, only the mask alignment for the latter photolithographicprocess to be carried out on the previously defined pattern is affectedby such expansion or shrinkage. In addition, by adopting a novel layoutfor the drain and pixel electrodes 9 and 14 as shown in FIG. 2, thesemiconductor layer 6 for the TFTs 10 can be connected to the drainelectrodes 9 just as intended even if the plastic substrate 1 expands orshrinks considerably.

Unlike the glass substrate, the plastic substrate is greatly expandableand shrinkable. Accordingly, if the mask alignment is tentativelyperformed using alignment marks similar to known ones, no pair ofalignment marks for two different layers can be aligned with each othersuccessfully. Thus, according to this embodiment, alignment markers 120a and 120 b with the patterns shown in FIG. 12 are used. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 12, each marker 120 a formed by the first mask is atwo-dimensional lattice pattern of a size about twice (or more thantwice) as long as the alignment margin Δy given by Equation (6). On theother hand, each marker 120 b formed by the second mask is a pattern(e.g., a cross pattern) that can clearly show exactly where the marker120 b is located with respect to the associated marker 120 a formed bythe first mask.

Using these alignment markers 120 a and 120 b, the shift of the patterndefined by the second mask from that defined by the first mask can beknown. And based on this shift obtained, the location of the second maskis finely adjusted. For example, the mask alignment may be carried outso that the shift between the upper pair of alignment markers 120 a and120 b is substantially equal to the shift between the lower pair ofmarkers 120 a and 120 b.

EXAMPLE

As an example of the present invention, an active matrix substrate wasmodeled using a plastic substrate of PES with a thickness of about 0.2mm and a diagonal size of 5 inches. In this example, the unit pixelregions had a size of 300 μm×100 μm, the gate lines had a widthG_(width) of 10 μm, the pixel electrode gap PP_(gap) was 5 μm, theconnection had a width Y_(con) of 5 μm and the drain electrodes had alength L_(d) of 290 μm. The exposure system used had an alignmentaccuracy of ±5 μm. Substituting these values into Equation (5),ΔY=L_(d)−PP_(gap)−G_(width)=290−5−10=275 μm.

In this example, to cope with either expansion or shrinkage of theplastic substrate, the vertical center of each drain electrode wasapproximately aligned with the centerline of its associated gate line inthe center surface region of the plastic substrate. As a result, thealignment margin allowed by this example was ±132.5 μm(Δy=ΔY/2−dY=137.5−5=132.5 μm).

When a photolithograpic process was performed using the second mask, thepattern (or markers), which had been defined on the plastic substrateusing the first mask, shifted from the markers defined by the secondmask by 42 μm apiece. This pattern shift is equivalent to a substrateshrinkage of 661 ppm. In this example, however, an alignment margin of±132.5 μm was allowed. Accordingly, properly operable TFTs could beformed everywhere on the substrate. That is to say, that pattern shiftdid not affect the performance of the active matrix substrate at all.

In the known structure shown in FIG. 48 on the other hand, the maximumpermissible substrate shrinkage is as small as ±14 μm and it isimpossible to make an active matrix substrate using a plastic substrate.

The following Table 2 shows the alignment margins Δy and substrateshrinkage values corresponding to respective pixel pitches for the knownand inventive structures:

TABLE 2 Prior Art This invention Alignment Expansion or AlignmentExpansion or Pixel Margin Shrinkage Margin Shrinkage Pitch (μm) (μm)(ppm) (μm) (ppm) 350 19 299 157.5 2480 300 14 220 132.5 2087 250 9 142107.5 1693 200 4 63 82.5 1299where the alignment accuracy of the exposure system used is supposed tobe ±5 μm.

FIG. 13 illustrates relationships between the alignment margin (orsubstrate expansion/shrinkage margin) Δy and the pixel pitch. As can beseen from FIG. 13, this example allowed a margin much greater than thatrealized by any other known structure. Accordingly, even if the pixelpitch is set rather short, a plastic substrate still can be usedaccording to this example.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the substrateused is expandable or shrinkable by more than 500 ppm betweenphotolithograpic processes requiring mask alignment, all elementsbelonging to any layer, including the color filter layer, can be so laidout as to meet an appropriate positional relationship. Thus, thisembodiment realizes an active matrix liquid crystal display device usinga plastic substrate.

If the active matrix substrate of this embodiment is used in combinationwith a normally white mode liquid crystal layer to fabricate a liquidcrystal display device, then backlight will leak through the transparentdata lines and their surroundings. More specifically, the backlightlikely leaks through part of the data line 5, gap between the data line5 and drain electrode 9, gap between adjacent pixel electrodes 14 andgap between adjacent drain electrodes 9, thus decreasing the contrast ofthe displayed image. In contrast, if this LCD is allowed to perform adisplay operation in a normally black mode, then the pixel electrodes 14to which no voltage is applied, the gap between each adjacent pair ofdrain electrodes 9 and the gap between each adjacent pair of pixelelectrodes 14 will be displayed in black. On the other hand, the datalines 5 to which an intermediate voltage is applied will be displayed inhalf tones. Thus, the decrease in display contrast is suppressible.

Embodiment 2

In the first embodiment, the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 and pixelelectrodes 14 are formed by patterning a transparent conductive film ofITO, for example. Accordingly, although the data lines 5 do not have tobe transparent, the data lines 5, as well as the pixel electrodes 14,are also made of the transparent conductive film. Generally speaking, atransparent conductive film has a resistivity higher than that of ametal film. For example, an ITO film has a resistivity of 200 to 400μΩcm. Accordingly, if the data lines 5 of ITO are too long, then thesignal transmitted therethrough is likely delayed excessively. For thatreason, as for the active matrix substrate 100 of the first embodiment,the maximum allowable size thereof would be 5 inches diagonally.

Also, if a black matrix is formed on the counter substrate facing theactive matrix substrate 100, then the openings of the black matrix arelikely misaligned with the pixel electrodes 14 because the plasticsubstrate expands or shrinks. Nevertheless, if no black matrix isprovided at all to avoid this misalignment, then the TFTs 10 will beexposed to externally incident light, thus possibly increasing theirOFF-state leakage currents. Should the TFTs 10 increase their OFF-stateleakage currents, the retention voltage to be applied by the pixelelectrodes 14 and counter electrode to the liquid crystal layer woulddecrease, thus lowering the contrast of the displayed image. Also, wereit not for the black matrix, the backlight would leak out through thetransparent data lines and their surroundings as described above. Then,the LCD could not perform its display operation in a normally whitemode. Even if the LCD is supposed to operate in a normally black mode,the resultant contrast will also decrease slightly over the data lines5.

To solve these problems, according to this embodiment, a black matrix isformed on the active matrix substrate by a self-aligned process.

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the inventive active matrixsubstrate will be described with reference to FIGS. 14, 15A and 15B.FIG. 14 is a plan view illustrating a layout for an active matrixsubstrate 200 according to the second embodiment. FIGS. 15A and 15B arecross-sectional views of the substrate 200 respectively taken along thelines A-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIG. 14.

As is clear from these drawings, the active matrix substrate 200 of thesecond embodiment basically has the same structure as the counterpart100 of the first embodiment except for the following features:

-   -   1) A black matrix 35 exists where no pixel electrodes 14 exist        and each of the pixel electrodes 14 is surrounded with the black        matrix 35 as shown in FIG. 14. That is to say, the data lines 5,        gate lines 2, TFTs 10, gaps between the data line 5 and drain        electrodes 9, gaps between the drain and pixel electrodes 9 and        14, gap between adjacent pixel electrodes 14 and gap between        adjacent drain electrodes 9 are all covered with the black        matrix 35 to cut the incoming off;    -   2) The black matrix 35 is made of a negative photosensitive        material and has been formed by a patterning process with        backside exposure;    -   3) The color filters 33 exist where no black matrix 35 exists        (i.e., on the pixel electrodes 14) as shown in FIGS. 15A and        15B; and    -   4) A metal film 93 of Ta has been deposited on the data lines 5        and drain electrodes 9 of ITO.

Ta has a resistivity of 25 to 40 μΩm, which is lower than that of ITO.Accordingly, the combination of the metal film 93 of Ta with the dataline 5 of ITO serves as a low-resistance line. This is why signal can betransmitted through the low-resistance line faster than the data lineobtained by patterning a transparent conductive film of ITO, forexample. Thus, the active matrix substrate 200 of the second embodimentmay have a greater diagonal size of 10 inches or more.

However, where the incoming light must be cut off using the black matrix35 but the data lines 5 need not have their resistance reduced, anopaque insulating layer made of a black resin material may be formedinstead of the opaque metal film of Ta on the transparent conductivefilm. The opaque metal film or insulating layer serves as an opticalmask necessary for the process step of defining a pattern for the blackmatrix 35 in the fabrication process to be described below.

Hereinafter, a method of making the active matrix substrate 200 will bedescribed in detail with reference to FIGS. 16A through 16E and FIGS.17A through 17F. FIGS. 16A through 16E are plan views illustrating twopixel regions in main process steps. FIGS. 17A through 17F illustratecross-sectional views taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′ shown in FIGS.16A through 16E.

First, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 17A, multiple gate lines 2 are formedon a plastic substrate 1. The gate lines 2 may be formed by depositing ametal film of aluminum (Al) or Ta, for example, on the plastic substrate1 by a sputtering process, for instance, and then by patterning themetal film by photolithographic and etching processes. The pattern ofthe gate lines 2 is defined by a (first) mask for use in thephotolithographic process.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 16B and 17B, an i-semiconductor layer 6 and adoped semiconductor layer 7 are formed over the gate lines 2 with a gateinsulating film 4 interposed therebetween so that these layers 6 and 7are self-aligned with the gate lines 2. In this process step, a backsideexposure process is carried out as in the first embodiment. In FIG. 16B,only the doped semiconductor layer 7 is illustrated. Actually, though,the i-semiconductor layer 6 and gate lines 2 are located under the dopedsemiconductor layer 7.

Next, a transparent conductive film 91 and an opaque metal film 93respectively made of ITO and Ta, for example, are deposited in thisorder over the plastic substrate 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 17C, a resistmask 92 is defined thereon. As in the first embodiment, the resist mask92 includes: relatively thick portions 92 a defining the data lines 5,drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14; and relatively thin portions92 b defining the region between the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9.

Subsequently, the opaque metal film 93, transparent conductive film 91,doped semiconductor layer 7 and i-semiconductor layer 6 are sequentiallyetched using the resist mask 92. FIGS. 16C and 17C illustrate astructure of the substrate when this etching process is finished. Atthis point in time, the channels 31 of the TFTs 10 are covered with therelatively thin portions 92 b of the resist mask 92. Accordingly, therespective parts of the metal film 93, transparent conductive film 91and doped semiconductor layer 7, which are located over the channels 31,are not yet etched at all. That is to say, parts of the transparentconductive film 91 to be the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9,respectively, have not yet been separated from each other.

Next, after the thin resist portions 92 b, which have covered thechannels 31 of the TFTs 10, have been removed by an oxygen plasma ashingprocess, for example, the metal film 93, transparent conductive film 91and doped semiconductor layer 7 are etched again. As a result, thestructure shown in FIGS. 16D and 17D can be obtained. At this point intime, the metal film 93 exists not only over the data lines 5 and drainelectrodes 9 but also over the pixel electrodes 14. To make atransmission-type display device, parts of the opaque metal film 93located over the pixel electrodes 14 should be removed selectively.Those parts of the opaque metal film 93 on the pixel electrodes 14 willbe removed after a black matrix has been formed in the following manner.

Specifically, a transparent passivation film 11 is deposited over theplastic substrate 1 and then coated with a negative photosensitive blackmatrix film as shown in FIG. 17E. Then, a backside exposure process iscarried out. That is to say, this photosensitive black matrix film isexposed to light through the backside of the substrate 1. In thisprocess step, the pattern of the opaque metal film 93 functions as asort of optical mask. Accordingly, parts of the photosensitive blackmatrix film with relatively wide areas over the pixel electrodes 14 arehardly exposed to the light. However, other parts of the opaque metalfilm 93, which cover the data lines 5 and drain electrodes 9, have smallline widths and exposed to the light due to diffraction of the lightincoming through the backside of the substrate.

After this backside exposure process has been carried out, thephotosensitive black matrix film is developed to remove the non-exposedparts thereof. As a result, a black matrix 35 is defined as shown inFIGS. 16E and 17E to have a plurality of openings, which are of almostthe same shape as the pixel electrodes 14, over the pixel electrodes 14.

Thereafter, using this black matrix 35 as an etching mask, parts of thepassivation film 11 and opaque metal film 93, which have been exposedthrough the openings of the black matrix 35, are etched away. As aresult, no opaque metal film 93 exists on the pixel electrodes 14anymore. Then, color filters 33 are electrodeposited to complete thestructure shown in FIG. 17F.

In the second embodiment, the upper surface of the data lines 5 made ofa transparent conductive film is backed with a metal film that has aresistivity lower than that of the transparent conductive film.Accordingly, the data lines, including the metal film formed thereon,can have their electrical resistance (i.e., interconnect resistance)reduced as a whole, thus realizing a large-scale liquid crystal displaydevice with a diagonal size of 5 inches or more.

Also, the second embodiment greatly improves the resultant displayperformance because a black matrix is formed on the active matrixsubstrate. More specifically, the TFTs in the display area are coveredwith the black matrix. Accordingly, the TFTs can have their OFF-stateleakage current much reduced even when exposed to the externallyincident light. As a result, the decrease in contrast due to the leakagecurrent is suppressible. In addition, the black matrix can also reducethe unwanted leakage of the backlight, thus preventing the decrease incontrast due to the light leakage, too.

Embodiment 3

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the inventive active matrix substratewill be described with reference to FIG. 18 and FIGS. 19A through 19D.FIG. 18 is a plan view schematically illustrating a layout for an activematrix substrate 300 according to the third embodiment. FIGS. 19Athrough 19D illustrate how the pattern of a black matrix is defined by abackside exposure process.

As can be seen from FIG. 18, the active matrix substrate 300 of thethird embodiment has basically the same structure as the counterpart 200of the second embodiment except for the arrangement of the gate lines 2.

The third embodiment of the present invention is characterized bydividing each of the gate lines 2 into a plurality of line portions 2 a,2 b and 2 c, each having a width of 6 to 7 μm. The semiconductor layer 6for the TFTs 10 is self-aligned with the gate line 2, and is alsodivided into three portions corresponding to the line portions 2 athrough 2 c, respectively. Thus, according to the third embodiment,three TFTs are disposed for each pixel and are connected in parallel toeach other between the associated data line 5 and drain electrode 9. Thesame scan signal is input to the three line portions 2 a through 2 c ofeach gate line 2. In response, the three TFTs perform a switchingoperation in a similar manner.

Following is the reason why each gate line is divided into multiple lineportions.

When the backside exposure process, adopted for the first and secondembodiments, is carried out, the width of the gate lines 2 defines thechannel width of the TFTs 10. Generally speaking, the amount of ON-statecurrent flowing through a transistor is proportional to the channelwidth thereof. Accordingly, to obtain an ON-state current in a requiredamount, the gate lines 2 sometimes need to have a relatively largewidth. The amount of ON-state current required differs depending on thesize of the pixel electrodes 14 and the addressing method adopted.Typically, where the pixel electrodes 14 have a size of about 300 μm×100μm, the channel width should be set to 10 to 20 μm.

However, if the gate lines 2 have a width of 10 μm or more, then thecenter portion of the gate lines 2 cannot be exposed to the diffractedlight sufficiently while the pattern of the black matrix film 35 isbeing defined by the backside exposure process. This point will befurther discussed with reference to FIGS. 19A and 19C. FIGS. 19A and 19Bare plan views illustrating the shapes of the black matrix 35 in aregion where TFT(s) is/are formed; and FIGS. 19C and 19D arecross-sectional views respectively taken along the lines F-F′ shown inFIGS. 19A and 19B.

If the width of the gate line 2 is too broad, then the diffracted partof the light, incoming through the backside of the substrate, cannotreach the portion of the negative photosensitive black matrix filmlocated over the center of the gate line 2. That is to say, anon-exposed part of the black matrix film will exist on the gate line 2.For that reason, even after the black matrix film has been developed,the gate line 2 will be covered with the black matrix 35 only partiallyand the center portion thereof cannot be covered with the black matrix35. Specifically, just both side portions of the gate line 2 will becovered with the black matrix 35 as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19C. Thewidth of the covered portions is typically on the order of several μm.The black matrix 35 in such a shape cannot cut off the light externallyincident onto the TFTs 10, thus adversely increasing the OFF-stateleakage current of the TFTs 10.

In contrast, in the example illustrated in FIG. 19B, the gate line 2 hasbeen divided into two line portions 2 a and 2 b. In such a layout, thegap between the line portions 2 a and 2 b can serve as a slit-likeopening and allows the light and its diffracted parts to passtherethrough during the backside exposure process. In this manner, agreater area on the gate line 2 can be exposed to the light. As aresult, the gate line 2 can be entirely covered with the black matrix 35as shown in FIGS. 19B and 19D.

Normally, as for a photosensitive resin film on an opaque pattern, evenparts of the film about 4 μm inside from the edges of the opaque patternare also exposed to the diffracted light. Accordingly, where the gateline 2 has a width of about 8 μm or less, the gate line 2 does not haveto be divided into multiple portions. However, considering the linewidth is changeable due to variations in fabrication process parameters,the line width would preferably be at most about 6 to 7 μm.

Referring back to FIG. 18, each gate line 2 shown in FIG. 18 has beendivided into the three line portions 2 a through 2 c. When these lineportions 2 a through 2 c each have a width of 6 to 7 μm, the effectivewidth of the gate line 2 (i.e., the channel width of the TFTs 10) willbe 18 to 21 μm.

In this embodiment, the semiconductor layer 6 and 7 are alsoself-aligned with the gate line 2. So the semiconductor layer 7 has alsobeen divided into three portions corresponding to the three lineportions 2 a through 2 c of the gate line 2. Accordingly, three TFTs aredisposed for each pixel and are connected in parallel to each otherbetween the data line 5 and drain electrode 9. The same scan signal isinput to the line portions 2 a through 2 c of the gate line 2 and theTFTs each perform a similar switching operation in response to the scansignal. As a result, an increased amount of ON-state current can flowthrough these TFTs.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 18, the gate line 2 is divided intothree line portions. However, the present invention is not limited tothis specific example. Alternatively, each gate line receiving the samesignal may be divided into either two portions or four or more portions.Also, the line portions of the gate line may be combined together in theareas other than the display area. For example, in an area where thegate line is connected to a driver circuit, the multiple line portionsof the gate line are preferably combined into one to receive the samesignal.

It should be noted that the gate line 2 only needs to be divided intomultiple line portions at least in the regions where the semiconductorlayer 6 for the TFTs 10 exists. Thus, the gate line 2 does not have tobe divided in the regions where the pixel electrodes 14 exist, forexample. However, when the plastic substrate 1 expands or shrinks,misalignment should occur in the X-axis direction. For that reason, thegate lines preferably have a uniform planar shape anywhere inside thedisplay area.

As can be seen, according to this embodiment, even if the effective linewidth of the gate line 2 is increased, the black matrix 35 can be formedto cover the TFTs 10 entirely.

The black matrix 35 is made of an optically amplified photosensitivematerial in the illustrated embodiment, but may also be made of achemically amplified photosensitive material. Using a chemicallyamplified photosensitive material, even if some part is not directlyexposed to light, that part will also react eventually after an exposedpart has reacted. Accordingly, it would be easier for the black matrix35 to cover a wider area on an opaque pattern.

Embodiment 4

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the inventive active matrixsubstrate will be described with reference to FIGS. 20A through 21F.FIGS. 20A through 20E are plan views illustrating two pixel regions inmain process steps for making the active matrix substrate 400. FIGS. 21Athrough 21F illustrate cross-sectional views taken along the lines A-A′and B-B′ shown in FIGS. 20A through 20E.

In the foregoing first through third embodiments, the dopedsemiconductor layer 7 is deposited directly on the i-semiconductor layer6. And to separate the data line 5 to be source electrodes from thedrain electrodes 9, not only the doped semiconductor layer 7 but alsothe surface region of the i-semiconductor layer 6 are etched awaypartially. In the fourth embodiment on the other hand, a channelprotective layer is interposed between the i- and doped semiconductorlayers 6 and 7 to prevent the channel regions in the i-semiconductorlayer 6 from being etched.

As shown in FIGS. 20E and 21F, the structure of the active matrixsubstrate 400 of the fourth embodiment is basically the same as that ofthe substrate 100 of the first embodiment except that the channelprotective layer 95 is interposed between the i- and doped semiconductorlayers 6 and 7. However, it is during the fabrication process that thechannel protective layer 95 works. So it will be described in detail howto make the active matrix substrate 400 in accordance with the fourthembodiment.

First, as shown in FIGS. 20A and 21A, multiple gate lines 2 are formedon a plastic substrate 1. The gate lines 2 may be formed by depositing ametal film of AlNd or Ta, for example, on the plastic substrate 1 by asputtering process, for instance, and then by patterning the metal filmby photolithographic and etching processes. The pattern of the gatelines 2 is defined by a (first) mask for use in the photolithographicprocess.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 20B and 21B, an i-semiconductor layer 6 and achannel protective layer 95 are deposited in this order over thesubstrate 1 with a gate insulating film 4 interposed therebetween. Then,the channel protective layer 95 is patterned by a backside exposureprocess and self-aligned with the gate lines 2. In this process step,only the channel protective layer 95 is patterned without etching thei-semiconductor layer 6. The channel protective layer 95 is preferablyformed out of an SiN_(x) film with a thickness of about 200 μm. In theillustrated embodiment, the exposure and etching conditions arecontrolled in such a manner that the line width of the channelprotective layer 95 is narrower than that of the gate lines 2 by about 1to 4 μm. As a result, each edge of the channel protective layer 95 islocated inside the associated edge of the gate line 2 by about 0.5 to 2μm. Alternatively, the line width of the channel protective layer 95 maybe even narrower than that of the gate lines 2. In that case, thechannel protective layer 95 should be side-etched more deeply byperforming an isotropic etching process such as wet etching.

Next, a doped semiconductor layer 7 is deposited over the channelprotective layer 95 and i-semiconductor layer 6 by a CVD process. Then,the doped and i-semiconductor layers 7 and 6 are patterned by a backsideexposure process again and self-aligned with the gate lines 2. In FIG.20C, only the doped semiconductor layer 7 is illustrated. Actually,though, the channel protective layer 95, i-semiconductor layer 6 andgate lines 2 are located under the doped semiconductor layer 7. In thiscase, however, the line width of the channel protective layer 95 isnarrower than that of the i-semiconductor layer 6 or gate lines 2. Asused herein, the “line width” of the channel protective layer 95 meansthe distance between two of the four side faces of the channelprotective layer 95 that are parallel to the direction in which the gatelines 2 extend.

Next, a transparent conductive film 91 of ITO, for example, is depositedover the plastic substrate 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 21D, a resist mask92 is defined. As in the first embodiment, the resist mask 92 includes:relatively thick portions 92 a defining the data lines 5, drainelectrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14; and relatively thin portions 92 bdefining the region between the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9.

Subsequently, the transparent conductive film 91, doped semiconductorlayer 7, channel protective layer 95 and i-semiconductor layer 6 aresequentially etched using the resist mask 92. FIGS. 20D and 21Dillustrate a structure of the substrate when this etching process isfinished. At this point in time, the channels of the TFTs 10 are coveredwith the relatively thin portions 92 b of the resist mask 92.Accordingly, the respective parts of the transparent conductive film 91,doped semiconductor layer 7, channel protective layer 95 andi-semiconductor layer 6, which are located over the channel regions, arenot yet etched at all.

Next, after the thin resist portions 92 b, which have covered thechannels of the TFT 10, have been removed by an oxygen plasma ashingprocess, for example, the transparent conductive film 91 and dopedsemiconductor layer 7 are etched again. In this etching process step,the channel protective layer 95, located under the doped semiconductorlayer 7, serves as an etch stop layer, or protects the channel regionsin the i-semiconductor layer 6 from etching-induced damage. As a result,the structure shown in FIGS. 20E and 21E can be obtained. Thereafter, apassivation film 11 is deposited over the plastic substrate 1 and thencolor filters 33 are electrodeposited thereon to complete the structureshown in FIG. 21F.

In the fourth embodiment, each stripe of the channel protective layer95, located over the gate line 2, is divided into multiple portions forrespective pixels using the mask for defining a pattern for the datalines 5 and drain electrodes 9. Accordingly, the channel protectivelayer 95 can be self-aligned with not only the gate lines 2 but also thedata lines 5 and drain electrodes 9. More specifically, two out of thefour side faces of the channel protective layer 95, which are parallelto the direction in which the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9 extend,are aligned with the outer side faces of the data line 5 and drainelectrodes 9.

Accordingly, no misalignment should occur between the channel protectivelayer 95 and the data line 5 or drain electrodes 9. As a result, anarray of channel-protected TFTs can be formed over an easily expandableand shrinkable substrate.

As can be seen, according to this embodiment, there is no need to leavea great alignment margin for the channel protective layer 95. Inaddition, the line width of the channel protective layer 95 as definedbetween the two side faces thereof, which are parallel to the directionin which the gate lines 2 extend, is narrower than the line width of thegate lines 2. Accordingly, contact regions can be defined on thesemiconductor layer 6 where the channel protective layer 95 does notexist.

Embodiment 5

Hereinafter, a fifth embodiment of the inventive active matrix substratewill be described with reference to FIGS. 22 through 25, in which eachmember already described for any of the foregoing embodiments isidentified by the same reference numeral as that used for theembodiment.

First, referring to FIG. 22, illustrated schematically is a layout foran active matrix substrate 500 according to the fifth embodiment. Unlikethe first through fourth embodiments, a storage capacitance line (Com)20 is disposed between each adjacent pair of gate lines 2 (e.g., betweenG1 and G2) on the substrate 500 and extends parallel to the gate lines2. The storage capacitance lines 20 and gate lines 2 belong to the samelayer and are made of the same material. Throughout the pixel regions onthe active matrix substrate 500, the storage capacitance lines 20, aswell as the gate lines 2, extend in stripes and have no protrusions intheir planar layout. FIG. 22 illustrates just seven gate lines 2, sevenstorage capacitance lines 20 and eight data lines 5 for the sake ofsimplicity. Actually, though, a huge number of gate lines 2, storagecapacitance lines 20 and data lines 5 are arranged to form a matrix.

Next, referring to FIG. 23, illustrated is part of the display area ofthe active matrix substrate 500 to a larger scale.

As shown in FIG. 23, a conductive member 9 has been long extendedparallel to the data lines 5 from the associated pixel electrode 14 thatextends across one of the gate lines 2 and one of the storagecapacitance lines 20. The direction in which the conductive member 9extends is Y-direction in FIG. 23. The conductive member 9 serves as adrain electrode for the associated TFT 10 and electrically connects theassociated pixel electrode 14 and the TFT 10 together.

In the illustrated embodiment, a semiconductor layer for the TFTs 10 hasbeen patterned and self-aligned with the gate lines 2, and the datalines 5 and conductive members (or drain electrodes) 9 are arranged toextend across the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer has alsobeen patterned and self-aligned with the storage capacitance lines 20.Thus, parasitic TFTs are formed physically by each storage capacitanceline 20 and the semiconductor layer. However, a signal at such a levelas turning OFF those parasitic TFTs is always input to the storagecapacitance lines 20. For that reason, the parasitic TFTs do not operateas switching elements.

As shown in FIG. 23, the drain electrode 9, connected to an arbitraryone of the TFTs 10, crosses one of the gate lines 2 and one of thestorage capacitance lines 20, while the pixel electrode 14, connected tothe drain electrode 9, crosses another one of the gate lines 2 andanother one of the storage capacitance lines 20. And the former andlatter gate lines 2 or storage capacitance lines 20 are verticallyadjacent to each other.

Generally speaking, when an active matrix substrate is applied to aliquid crystal display device, for example, any variation in pixelpotential caused by the gate-drain capacitance C_(gd) of a TFT shouldpreferably be suppressed to improve the display performance and reducethe power dissipation. The variation ΔV in pixel potential caused byC_(gd) is given byΔV=C _(gd)/(C _(gd) +C _(cs) +C _(lc))·V _(gpp)where C_(cs) is the storage electrode capacitance (i.e., capacitanceformed between the gate and storage capacitance lines 2, 20 and thepixel electrode 14), C_(lc) is the liquid crystal capacitance andV_(gpp) is the potential difference created on the gate line 2 betweenthe ON and OFF states. V_(gpp) and C_(lc) are determined by thematerials used or the basic device characteristics. Accordingly, todecrease ΔV, the storage capacitance C_(cs) may be increased. Where analignment free structure is adopted, however, ΔV should not becontrolled by increasing the width of the gate lines 2. This is becausewhen the storage capacitance C_(cs) is increased by broadening the gatelines 2, C_(gd) also increases. For example, suppose the gate lines 2have had their width G_(width) increased by K times to raise the storagecapacitance C_(cs). In that case, C_(cs′)=K·C_(cs) since the storagecapacitance C_(cs) is proportional to the width G_(width) of the gatelines. On the other hand, the gate-drain capacitance C_(gd) is alsoproportional to the width G_(width) of the gate lines andC_(gd′)=K·C_(gd). Accordingly, the dynamic voltage shift ΔV′ of pixelelectrodes is given by:ΔV′=K·C _(gd)/(K·C _(gd) +K·C _(cs) +C _(lc))=C _(gd)/(C _(gd) +C _(cs)+C _(lc) /K)  (7)As is clear from this Equation (7), the greater the constant K, thegreater the voltage shift ΔV′. Stated otherwise, if K is decreased, thenthe voltage shift ΔV′ also decreases. In the actual fabrication process,however, the line width of the gate lines 2 cannot be reduced to lessthan a predetermined minimum value due to various process-relatedconstraints. Accordingly, it is difficult to reduce the voltage shiftΔV′ sufficiently by setting K as small as possible.

Thus, according to the fifth embodiment, the storage capacitance isformed between the storage capacitance line 20 and pixel electrode 14 inaddition to the capacitance between the gate line 2 and pixel electrode14. And by adjusting the width of the storage capacitance line 20, thevoltage shift ΔV can be reduced.

In the fifth embodiment, the gap between the gate and storagecapacitance lines 2 and 20, crossing the pixel electrodes 14 on the samerow, should preferably be as narrow as possible to increase the marginleft for the expansion and shrinkage of the substrate.

Next, turning to FIGS. 24 and 25, illustrated are cross-sectional viewsof the substrate 500 respectively taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′shown in FIG. 23.

As shown in FIG. 24, the TFT 10 of the fifth embodiment has a multilayerstructure including the gate line 2 (serving as its gate electrode),gate insulating film 4, i-semiconductor layer 6 and doped semiconductorlayer 7 that have been stacked in this order on the substrate 1. In theillustrated embodiment, the i-semiconductor layer 6 is made of non-dopedamorphous silicon, while the doped semiconductor layer 7 is made ofn⁺-type microcrystalline silicon that has been heavily doped with ann-type dopant such as phosphorus (P). The data line 5 and drainelectrode 9 are electrically connected to source/drain regions in thesemiconductor layer 6 by way of the doped semiconductor layer 7 servingas a contact layer. As can be easily understood, part of the data line 5extending linearly (i.e., that part crossing the gate line 2) functionsas a source electrode 8 for the TFT 10.

As shown in FIG. 24, part 31 of the semiconductor layer 6 locatedbetween the source/drain regions S and D thereof serves as a channelregion, over which no doped semiconductor layer 7 exists. In theillustrated embodiment, the TFT 10 is implemented as a channel-etchedbottom-gate thin-film transistor. The upper surface of the channelregion in the semiconductor layer 6 is etched shallow when that part ofthe doped semiconductor layer 7 is removed.

It can also be seen that the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 also existover the gate line 2 even in a region where the pixel electrode 14 hasbeen formed. However, as shown in FIG. 24, part of the semiconductorlayers 6 and 7 in the region where the pixel electrode 14 exists isspaced apart from another part of the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 forthe TFT 10. Thus, the former part of the semiconductor layers 6 and 7does not constitute any parasitic transistor. Accordingly, no crosstalkwill be observable between a pair of pixels belonging to the same row(or gate line).

The storage capacitance line 20 and its associated components also havethe same cross section as that of the gate line 2 and its associatedcomponents shown in FIG. 24. On the storage capacitance line 20, thesemiconductor layer 6 also exists between the data line 5 and drainelectrode 9, thus forming a parasitic TFT. However, this parasitictransistor does not turn ON because the storage capacitance line 20 isalways supplied with a voltage of about −8 to 15 V. Accordingly, thedata line 5 and drain electrode 9 on the storage capacitance line 20 areelectrically isolated from each other.

In the illustrated embodiment, the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 andpixel electrodes 14 are all made of a conductive layer obtained bypatterning a single reflective electrode film, and all belong to thesame layer. The data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14are covered with a passivation film 11.

The alignment margin ΔY allowed between the gate and storage capacitancelines 2, 20 and drain electrodes 9 (or pixel electrodes 14) is given by

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{\Delta\; Y} = {L_{d} - {PP}_{gap} - G_{width} - W_{cs} - {GC}_{gap}}} \\{= {P_{pitch} - G_{width} - {PP}_{gap} - W_{cs} - {GC}_{gap} - {DD}_{gap} - Y_{con}}}\end{matrix} & (8)\end{matrix}$where G_(width) is the width of the gate lines 2, W_(cs) is the width ofthe storage capacitance lines 20 and GC_(gap) is the gap between thegate and storage capacitance lines 2, 20.

As can be seen, even if the gate line pitch has increased or decreaseddue to the expansion or shrinkage of the plastic substrate, the layoutof this embodiment still allows an alignment margin great enough to copewith the variation. Accordingly, properly operable TFTs can be formedeverywhere on the substrate and the variation in transistorcharacteristic or parasitic capacitance within the substrate plane issuppressible. In addition, the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 andpixel electrodes 14 are all formed by patterning a single transparentconductive film or reflective electrode film as described above.Accordingly, there is no concern about misalignment among the data lines5, drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14.

EXAMPLE

As an example of the present invention, an active matrix substrate wasmodeled using a plastic substrate of PES with a thickness of about 0.2mm and a diagonal size of 5 inches. The panel obtained by using theactive matrix substrate had a diagonal size of 3.9 inches and aresolution of ¼ VGA (i.e., 320×RGB×240). In this example, the unit pixelregions had a size of 82 μm×246 μm, the gate lines 2 had a widthG_(width) of 8 μm, the pixel electrode gap PP_(gap) was 5 μm, theconnection had a width Y_(con) of 5 μm, the storage capacitance lines 20had a width W_(cs) of 25 μm, the gap GC_(gap) between the storagecapacitance and gate lines 20 and 2 was 10 μm and the drain electrodegap DD_(gap) was 5 μm. Then, ΔY=246−8−5−25−10−5−5=188 μm.

In this example, to cope with either expansion or shrinkage of theplastic substrate, the respective components were arranged to meetΔY1=ΔY2 in the center surface region of the plastic substrate. As aresult, the alignment margin ΔY allowed between the gate line layer andthe source line/pixel electrode layer by this example was ±91 μm(ΔY=ΔY/2−dY, where dY is the accuracy of the aligner and was 3 μm).

The length of the display area in the ΔY direction was 240 lines×246μm=59040 μm, so a substrate expansion/shrinkage margin of 1541 ppm wasallowed between the two layers. In this active matrix substrate actuallymodeled, the plastic substrate expanded or shrunk by about 500 to 700ppm. However, a sufficient alignment margin was allowed in this example.Accordingly, properly operable TFTs could be formed in every pixelregion on the substrate. That is to say, the expansion or shrinkage didnot affect the performance of the active matrix substrate at all.

The following Table 3 shows substrate expansion/shrinkage margins forvarious pixel pitches for the inventive and known structures:

TABLE 3 Prior Art This invention Alignment Expansion or AlignmentExpansion or Pixel Margin Shrinkage Margin Shrinkage Pitch (μm) (μm)(ppm) (μm) (ppm) 350 19 234 143 2344 300 14 172 118 1934 250 9 110 931524 200 4 49 68 1114where the display area had a size of 4 inches diagonally (i.e., 81.2mm×61 mm), the gate line terminals were arranged along the shorter sidesand the exposure system had an alignment accuracy of ±3 μm.

Embodiment 6

The foregoing first through fifth embodiments can increase the alignmentmargin because the pixel electrodes 14 and data lines 5 belong to thesame layer. However, since the pixel electrodes 14 are laid out alongwith the data lines 5, the size of the pixel electrodes 14 should notexceed a certain limit. Accordingly, the aperture ratio (i.e., the arearatio of a pixel electrode to a unit pixel region in a reflective liquidcrystal display device) cannot be increased sufficiently.

Generally speaking, a liquid crystal display device using a plasticsubstrate is expected to be implemented as a reflective liquid crystaldisplay device to make full use of the lightweight and thin substrate.It is said, however, that a reflective liquid crystal display devicecannot attain a good viewing characteristic unless the device has anaperture ratio of 70% or more. For that purpose, a known reflectiveliquid crystal display device using a glass substrate realizes anaperture ratio of 80 to 90% by placing the pixel electrodes 14 and datalines 5 in mutually different layers and eliminating the gap usuallyneeded between them.

The structures of the first through fifth embodiments can attain anaperture ratio as low as about 30 to 50% Thus, to increase the apertureratio, the pixel electrode 14 has a two-layer structure in the sixthembodiment shown in FIG. 26. Specifically, the pixel electrode 14 ofthis embodiment includes: an upper-level pixel electrode 14A functioningas a reflective electrode; and a lower-level pixel electrode 14B forminga storage capacitance. The upper-level pixel electrodes 14A are placedin a layer overlying the data lines 5 with an insulating film interposedtherebetween, while the lower-level pixel electrodes 14B and data lines5 belong to the same layer. Then, the alignment margin can be increasedwithout decreasing the aperture ratio.

Hereinafter, the sixth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 26 through 28. FIG. 26 is a plan viewillustrating a layout for an active matrix substrate 600 according tothe sixth embodiment. FIGS. 27 and 28 are cross-sectional views of thesubstrate 600 respectively taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′ shown inFIG. 26.

As can be seen from FIGS. 27 and 28, part of the active matrix substrate600 of the sixth embodiment for the lower-level pixel electrode 14B andits underlying layers has the same structure as the counterpart of theactive matrix substrate 500 of the fifth embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, an interlevel dielectric film 21 has beendeposited over the lower-level pixel electrode 14B, drain electrode 9and data line 5. The upper-level pixel electrode 14A is made of areflective electrode material (e.g., Al). A contact hole 22 has beenformed over a part of the lower-level pixel electrode 14B toelectrically connect the lower- and upper-level pixel electrodes 14B and14A together. The upper-level pixel electrode 14A is greater in areathan the lower-level pixel electrode 14B, thus increasing the apertureratio. A storage capacitance is formed between the lower-level pixelelectrode 14B and the storage capacitance line 20 or gate line 2, so theupper-level pixel electrodes 14A do not have to be aligned with the gatelines 2.

Accordingly, the alignment margin ΔY allowed by the sixth embodimentbetween the first mask defining the gate lines 2 and the second maskdefining the source lines (i.e., data lines) 5 and lower-level pixelelectrodes 14B is equal to the the margin allowed by the fifthembodiment. That is to say, the alignment margin ΔY is also given byΔY=P _(pitch) −G _(width) −PP _(gap) −W _(cs) −GC _(gap) −DD _(gap) −Y_(con)

The contact holes 22 and upper-level pixel electrodes 14A are formedover the lower-level pixel electrodes 14B. Accordingly, the alignmentmargin should also be defined for these layers.

The contact holes 22 must be located over the lower-level pixelelectrodes 14B. Supposing the contact holes 122 have a width W_(ch), thealignment margin ΔC allowed between the third mask defining the contactholes 22 and the second mask defining the lower-level pixel electrodes14B is given byΔC=P _(ss) −W _(s) −W _(d)−3·SD _(gap) −W _(ch)where P_(ss) is the source line pitch, W_(s) is the width of the sourcelines, W_(d) is the width of the drain electrodes and SD_(gap) is thesource-drain gap.

The substrate also expands or shrinks in the ΔY direction. Accordingly,the alignment margin between the second and third masks should also bedefined in the ΔY direction. However, this alignment margin is muchgreater than ΔC and will not be described herein. The vertical shrinkageor expansion of a plastic substrate should be almost equal to thehorizontal shrinkage or expansion thereof. Accordingly, if thehorizontal shift is not greater than margin ΔC, then the vertical shift(i.e., in the ΔY direction) cannot exceed the vertical margin.

The upper-level pixel electrodes 14A must also be located over thecontact holes 22. Accordingly, the alignment margin ΔP allowed betweenthe third mask defining the contact holes 22 and the fourth maskdefining the upper-level pixel electrodes 14A is given byΔP=P _(ss) −PP _(tgap)where PP_(tgap) is the gap between the upper-level pixel electrodes 14A.

Next, it will be described how to make the active matrix substrate 600of the sixth embodiment.

As can be easily seen from FIGS. 26 through 28, the same fabricationprocess as that adopted for the foregoing first through fifthembodiments may be performed until the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9and lower-level pixel electrodes 14B are formed. The TFTs 10 may becovered with the channel protective layer or have their channelspartially etched away. In the illustrated embodiment, the channels ofthe TFTs have been etched as shown in FIG. 27.

Then, an interlevel dielectric film 21, which may be either inorganic ororganic insulating film, is deposited over the TFTs 10. Thereafter,contact holes 22 are opened through the interlevel dielectric film 21 byperforming a photolithographic process. The interlevel dielectric film21 may have a thickness of 0.5 to 3 μm, for example.

The interlevel dielectric film 21 should be made of such a material, ordeposited by such a method, as allowing the substrate to expand orshrink to a lesser degree. Normally, an organic insulating film allows asubstrate to expand or shrink less than an inorganic insulating film.Thus, the interlevel dielectric film 21 is made of an organic insulatorin the illustrated embodiment.

Next, a film of a reflective electrode material, e.g., Al, Al alloy orsilver alloy, is deposited to a thickness of about 50 to 100 nm, forexample, over the interlevel dielectric film 21. Then, by performing aphotolithographic process thereon, the upper-level pixel electrodes 14A(i.e., reflective electrodes) are formed out of the reflective electrodematerial film. Strictly speaking, the lower-level electrodes 14B do notactually function as pixel electrodes. However, the electrodes 14B stillfunction as lower-level electrodes for the upper-level pixel electrodes14A and are herein referred to as “lower-level pixel electrodes”.

In making the active matrix substrate 600 for a transmission-type liquidcrystal display device, the data lines 5 must be made of a transparentconductive material. On the other hand, in making the active matrixsubstrate 600 for a reflective liquid crystal display device, the datalines 5 may be made of either opaque conductor or transparent conductor.Anyway, the data lines 5 should be made of such a material as making alow-resistance contact with the upper-level pixel electrodes 14A. In theillustrated embodiment, the upper-level pixel electrodes 14A are made ofAl. So Ti is selected in this embodiment as a material for thelower-level pixel electrodes 14B, data lines 5 and drain electrodes 9.

EXAMPLE

As an example of the present invention, an active matrix substrate wasmodeled using a plastic substrate of PES with a thickness of about 0.2mm and a diagonal size of 5 inches. A panel having a diagonal size of3.9 inches and a resolution of ¼ VGA (i.e., 320×RGB×240) was made for areflective device. In this example, the unit pixel regions had a size of82 μm×246 μm, the gate lines 2 had a width G_(width) of 8 μm, thelower-level pixel electrode gap PP_(gap) was 5 μm, the connection had awidth Y_(con) of 5 μm, the storage capacitance lines 20 had a widthW_(cs) of 25 μm, the gap GC_(gap) between the storage capacitance andgate lines 20 and 2 was 10 μm and the drain electrode gap DD_(gap) was 5μm. Then, ΔY=246−8−5−25−10−5−5=188 μm.

In this example, to cope with either expansion or shrinkage of theplastic substrate, the respective components were arranged to meetΔY1=ΔY2 in the center surface region of the plastic substrate. As aresult, the alignment margin ΔY allowed between the gate line layer(i.e., the first mask layer) and the source line/lower-level pixelelectrode layer (i.e., the second mask layer) by this example was ±91 μm(ΔY=ΔY/2−dY, where dY is the accuracy of the aligner and was 3 μm).

The length of the display area in the ΔY direction was 240 lines×246μm=59040 μm, so a substrate expansion/shrinkage margin of 1541 ppm wasallowed between the first and second masks. In the active matrixsubstrate actually modeled, the plastic substrate expanded or shrunk byabout 500 to 700 ppm. However, a sufficient alignment margin was allowedin this example. Accordingly, TFTs and storage capacitance lines couldbe formed just as originally designed in all pixel regions.

On the other hand, the third mask defining the contact holes has only tobe aligned with the second mask. Where the source lines had a widthW_(s) of 8 μm, the drain electrodes had a width W_(d) of 8 μm, thesource-drain gap SD_(gap) was 5 μm and the contact holes had a width of5 μm, ΔC=82−8−8−3×5−5=46 μm.

To cope with either expansion or shrinkage of the plastic substrate, therespective components were arranged to meet Δ c1=Δc2 in the centersurface region of the plastic substrate. As a result, the alignmentmargin Δc allowed between the second and third masks by this example was±20 μm (Δc=Δ C/2−dY).

The mask alignment was also carried out in the Y-axis direction so thateach of the contact holes 22 was located approximately at the center ofthe associated lower-level pixel electrode 14B in the center surfaceregion of the substrate.

The length of the display area as measured parallel to Δ C was320×82×3=78720 μm and the maximum allowable substrateexpansion/shrinkage margin was just 254 ppm. However, unlike between thephotolithographic process steps of defining the first and second masklayers, a CVD process, which causes the substrate to expand or shrinkconsiderably, does not have to be performed between thephotolithographic process steps for defining the second and third masklayers. For that reason, in the active matrix substrate actuallymodeled, the plastic substrate expanded or shrunk by at most about 1500ppm. So in the structure of this example, the third mask can be alignedwith the second mask sufficiently.

Furthermore, the fourth mask defining the upper-level pixel electrodes14A has only to be aligned with the third mask. Where the upper-levelpixel electrode gap PP_(tgap) was 5 μm, ΔP=82−5=77 μm.

To cope with either expansion or shrinkage of the plastic substrate, therespective components were arranged to meet Δ p1=Δp2 in the centersurface region of the plastic substrate. As a result, the alignmentmargin Δp allowed between the third and fourth masks by this example was±35.5 μm (Δp=ΔP/2−dY).

The length of the display area as measured parallel to Δ P was320×82×3=78720 μm and the maximum allowable substrateexpansion/shrinkage margin was just 451 ppm. However, a CVD process,which causes the substrate to expand or shrink considerably, does nothave to be performed in the interval between the photolithographicprocess steps for defining the third and fourth masks. For that reason,the third and fourth masks can be aligned with each other relativelyeasily.

In the illustrated embodiment, the reflective electrodes (i.e., theupper-level pixel electrodes) 14A are laid out in a layer different fromthe layer where the data lines 5 belong. As a result, the aperture ratio(i.e., the area ratio of each reflective electrode to the associatedunit pixel region) can be increased to 92%.

In a known structure, components belonging to each pair of layers shouldbe aligned with each other at an alignment accuracy of several μm oreven less. Accordingly, where the alignment margin is 9 μm, the maximumallowable substrate shrinkage or expansion will be 150 ppm. For thatreason, according to the known technique, no active matrix substrate canbe made using a plastic substrate.

To realize TFT performance required for an active matrix substrate byutilizing a currently available fabrication technique, the gateinsulating film and semiconductor layers should be formed by a CVDprocess with the substrate heated to 100 to 200° C. Accordingly, to makean active matrix substrate using a plastic substrate, a pixel structure,allowing a great alignment margin between the first and second masks asin this embodiment, is preferred.

The sixth embodiment relates to a “Cs on Common” structure includingstorage capacitance lines. However, the same effects are also achievablewithout the storage capacitance lines. FIGS. 29 through 31 illustrate anactive matrix substrate 700 having a “Cs on Gate” structure according toa modified example of the sixth embodiment. The active matrix substrate700 is obtained by removing the storage capacitance lines 20 from thestructure of the sixth embodiment. The substrate 700 allows an evengreater alignment margin ΔY.

Embodiment 7

By adopting the structure of the sixth embodiment, a 3.9-inch ¼ VGAreflective liquid crystal display device can be fabricated using aplastic substrate. However, the sixth embodiment might not be applicableso effectively to a device with an even smaller pixel size or an evengreater panel size. That is to say, the alignment margin ΔC allowed bythe sixth embodiment for the contact holes might be insufficient. Also,in view of mass productivity, the alignment margin should preferably befurther increased even for the 3.9-inch ¼ VGA liquid crystal panels.Thus, this seventh embodiment is specially designed to further increasethe alignment margin ΔC for contact holes.

Hereinafter, the seventh embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 32 through 34. FIG. 32 is a plan viewillustrating a layout for an active matrix substrate 800 according tothe seventh embodiment. FIGS. 33 and 34 are cross-sectional views of thesubstrate 800 respectively taken along the lines A-A′ and B-B′ shown inFIG. 32.

In the active matrix substrate 800 shown in FIGS. 32 through 34, eachlower-level pixel electrode 14B crosses the associated storagecapacitance line 20, while the gate line 2, paired with the storagecapacitance line 20, is overlapped by the drain electrode 9 extendingfrom the lower-level pixel electrode 14B. Accordingly, in the X-axisdirection, no drain electrodes 9 exist in the gap between thelower-level pixel electrodes 14B and the associated data line (i.e.,source line) 5. For that reason, the width of the lower-level pixelelectrodes 14B (i.e., size as measured along the X-axis) can beincreased, so the alignment margin ΔC for contact holes can also beincreased. The alignment margin ΔC is given byΔC=P _(ss) −W _(s)−2·SD _(gap) −W _(ch)where P_(ss) is the source line pitch, W_(s) is the width of the sourcelines, SD_(gap) is the gap between the pixel electrodes and the sourcelines and W_(ch) is the width of the contact hole as measured along theX-axis.

Each drain electrode 9 crosses only the associated gate line 2 but doesnot overlap with any storage capacitance line 20. On the other hand,each lower-level pixel electrode 14B crosses only the associated storagecapacitance line 20 but does not overlap with any gate line 2.Accordingly, the substrate expansion/shrinkage margin ΔY allowed betweenthe first and second mask layers is given byΔY=(P _(pitch) −G _(width) −W _(cs) −DD _(gap) −DG _(gap))/2

Although the margin ΔY allowed by the seventh embodiment halves fromthat allowed by the sixth embodiment, the seventh embodiment iseffectively applicable to a situation where an increased alignmentmargin should be allowed between the second and third mask layers.

The active matrix substrate 800 of the seventh embodiment can be made bythe method of the sixth embodiment for making the active matrixsubstrate 600.

EXAMPLE

As an example of the present invention, an active matrix substrate wasmodeled using a plastic substrate of PES with a thickness of about 0.2mm and a diagonal size of 5 inches. A panel having a diagonal size of2.5 inches and a resolution of ¼ VGA (i.e., 320×RGB×240) was made for areflective device. In this example, the unit pixel regions had a size of53 μm×159 μm, the gate lines 2 had a width G_(width) of 8 μm, thestorage capacitance lines 20 had a width W_(cs) of 10 μm, the gapDD_(gap) between the drain and lower-level pixel electrodes was 5 μm andthe minimum gap between the lower-level pixel electrodes and gate linewas 3 μm. Then, ΔY=(159−8−10−5−3)/2=133 μm.

In this example, to cope with either expansion or shrinkage of theplastic substrate, the respective components were arranged to meetΔY1=ΔY2 in the center surface region of the plastic substrate. As aresult, the alignment margin ΔY allowed between the gate line layer(i.e., the first mask layer) and the source line/lower-level pixelelectrode layer (i.e., the second mask layer) by this example was ±63.5μm (ΔY=Δ Y/2−dY, where dY is the accuracy of the aligner and was 3 μm).

The length of the display-area in the ΔY direction was 240 lines×159μm=38160 μm, so a substrate expansion/shrinkage margin of 1664 ppm wasallowed between the first and second mask layers.

The alignment margin ΔC allowed between the contact hole layer (i.e.,the third mask layer) and the lower-level pixel electrode layer (i.e.,the second mask layer) was ΔC=53−8−2×5−5=30 μm. To cope with eitherexpansion or shrinkage of the plastic substrate, the respectivecomponents were arranged to meet Δc1=Δc2 in the center surface region ofthe plastic substrate. As a result, the alignment margin Δc allowedbetween the second and third mask layers by this example was ±12 μm(Δc=ΔC/2−dY). The length of the display area as measured parallel to ΔCwas 320×53×3=50880 μm and the maximum allowable substrateexpansion/shrinkage margin was 590 ppm, which is an alignment marginsufficiently great for the interval between the photolithographicprocess steps for the defining the second and third mask layers. This isbecause no CVD process has to be carried out in this interval.

In the structure of the sixth embodiment on the other hand, where thesource line width W_(s) is 6 μm, the drain electrodes have a width W_(d)of 6 μm, the source-drain gap SD_(gap) is 5 μm and the contact holeshave a width of 5 μm, ΔC=53−8−8−3×5−5=17 μm and Δc=ΔC/2−dY=only ±5.5 μm.In that case, the substrate expansion/shrinkage margin is just 108 ppmand the fabrication margin allowed is insufficient.

Thus, according to the seventh embodiment, the photo-alignment margincan be increased sufficiently in forming the contact holes 22 thatconnect the upper- and lower-level pixel electrodes 14A and 14Btogether. As a result, a high-definition (e.g., more than 150 PPI)active matrix substrate for 2.5-inch ¼ VGA liquid crystal display deviceis realized using a plastic substrate.

The upper-level pixel electrodes 14A have the same structure as thecounterparts of the sixth embodiment, thus realizing a sufficiently highaperture ratio. In this example, an aperture ratio of 88% was realized.

Embodiment 8

Hereinafter, an eighth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 35 through 38. FIG. 35 is a plan viewillustrating a layout for an active matrix substrate 900 according tothe eighth embodiment. FIGS. 36, 37 and 38 are cross-sectional views ofthe substrate 900 respectively taken along the lines A-A′, B-B′ and C-C′shown in FIG. 35.

The active matrix substrate 900 of the eighth embodiment is different inthe shape of the TFTs from the counterpart of any of the foregoing firstthrough seventh embodiments. In the eighth embodiment, a sourceelectrode 8B branches from the associated data line 5, passes near thelower end of the associated drain electrode 9 and then bends at rightangles to the left (i.e., the direction parallel to the data lines 5).That is to say, the source electrode 8B, along with the data line 5,surrounds the drain electrode 9. And the data line 5 (i.e., sourceelectrode 8A), source electrode 8B and drain electrode 9 are all laidout to extend across the gate line 2 and its overlying semiconductorlayer 6.

As shown in FIG. 36, the semiconductor layer 6 is left over the entireupper surface of the gate line 2. Accordingly, the components locatedover the gate line 2 and between the data line 5 (source electrode 8A)and drain electrode 9 can function as a TFT. In addition, the componentslocated over the gate line 2 and between the source and drain electrodes8B and 9 can also function as a TFT.

On the other hand, the semiconductor layer 6 also exists between thesource electrode 8B and an adjacent data line 5 (source electrode 8A),and the components in this intermediate region might function as aparasitic TFT. However, a signal on the adjacent data line 5 is shieldedby the source electrode 8B and does not affect the potential level ofthe pixel electrode 14B by way of the drain electrode 9.

As can be seen from FIG. 38, the alignment margin ΔY allowed by theeighth embodiment is given byΔY=(P _(pitch) −G _(width) −W _(cs) −W _(s)−3·SD _(gap))/2

According to this embodiment, there is no need to perform the processstep of removing the semiconductor layer entirely, except the respectivechannels of the TFTs, by a half exposure technique. As a result, thefabrication process can be carried out in a shorter time and the yieldof the active matrix substrates can be increased.

Embodiment 9

Hereinafter, a ninth embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 39 and 40. FIG. 39 is a plan viewillustrating a layout for an active matrix substrate 1000 according tothe ninth embodiment. FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate1000 taken along the line A-A′ shown in FIG. 39.

The active matrix substrate 1000 of the ninth embodiment has a structuresimilar to that of the active matrix substrate 900 of the eighthembodiment. The active matrix substrate 1000 is characterized bydisposing each drain electrode 9 almost in the middle of two mutuallyadjacent data lines 5. The substrate 1000 is also characterized bygetting the channel of each TFT covered with the upper-level pixelelectrode 14A completely. In other words, the drain electrode 9 is laidout at such a position as getting the channel of each TFT covered withthe upper-level pixel electrode 14A completely. In the other respects,the structure of the active matrix substrate 1000 is the same as that ofthe active matrix substrate 900.

This structure can greatly reduce optical leakage currents flowingthrough the TFTs 10, thus increasing the resultant contrast when theactive matrix substrate 1000 is applied to a liquid crystal displaydevice.

As can be seen from FIG. 40, the alignment margin ΔY allowed by thisembodiment is given byΔY=(P _(pitch) −G _(width) −W _(cs)−2·W _(s)−3·SD _(gap))/2

In the illustrated embodiment, respective parts of the data line 5,drain electrode 9 and source electrode 8B extend parallel to each otherand cross the associated gate line 2 at right angles. However, thoseparallel parts do not have to cross the gate line 2 at right angles, butmay cross the line 2 at any angles other than 90 degrees. This isbecause the effects of the ninth embodiment are still attainable in thatcase.

Also, the drain electrode 9 may somewhat shift horizontally from thecenterline between two adjacent data lines 5. However, the horizontalshift of the drain electrode 9 from the line, extending through thecenter of the lower-level pixel electrode 14B along the Y-axis, ispreferably no greater than ±25% of the pixel pitch as measured along theX-axis.

In this embodiment, there is no need to perform the process step ofremoving the semiconductor layer entirely, except the respectivechannels of the TFTs, by a half exposure technique as in the eighthembodiment. As a result, the fabrication process can be carried out in ashorter time and the yield of the active matrix substrates can beincreased.

Embodiment 10

In the active matrix substrate of any of the foregoing embodiments, thegate lines are formed as the lowermost layer and the semiconductor layerfor TFTs is formed over the gate lines. A transistor with such astructure is called a transistor of bottom-gate type (or invertedstaggered transistor), because the associated part of the gate line,functioning as the gate electrode of the transistor, is located at thelowermost level. Conversely, the active matrix substrate of the tenthembodiment includes transistors of top-gate type (or staggeredtransistors). That is to say, in this active matrix substrate, the gatelines, functioning as the gate electrodes of the transistors, arelocated at the uppermost level.

In the active matrix substrate 1100 of the tenth embodiment, the gatelines 2 exist over, and intersect with, the data lines 5, drainelectrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14 as shown in FIGS. 41C and 42D.

Also, the semiconductor layer 6 is located under, and covered with, thedata lines 5, drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14. The gateinsulating film 4 exists under each and every gate line 2. And a storagecapacitance is formed between the gate line 2 and the pixel electrode14.

Hereinafter, a method of making the active matrix substrate 1100 of thetenth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 41A through41C and FIGS. 42A through 42E.

First, as shown in FIG. 42A, i-semiconductor layer 6 of non-dopedamorphous silicon, semiconductor layer 7 doped with phosphorus (P), forexample, and reflective metal film 96 of APC (i.e., a silver alloycontaining Ag, Pd and Cu) are stacked in this order over a plasticsubstrate 1. Then, a resist mask 92 is defined on this stack. The i- anddoped semiconductor layers 6 and 7 and reflective metal film 96 may bedeposited to thicknesses of 150 nm, 50 nm and 150 nm, respectively. Asin the first embodiment, the resist mask 92 includes: relatively thickportions 92 a defining the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 and pixelelectrodes 14; and relatively thin portions 92 b defining the regionbetween the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9.

Subsequently, the reflective metal film 96, doped semiconductor layer 7and i-semiconductor layer 6 are sequentially etched using the resistmask 92. FIGS. 41A and 42B illustrate a structure of the substrate whenthis etching process is finished. At this point in time, the channels ofthe TFTs 10 are covered with the relatively thin portions 92 b of theresist mask 92. Accordingly, the respective parts of the reflectivemetal film 96 and doped semiconductor layer 7, which are located overthe channels, are not yet etched at all. That is to say, parts of thereflective metal film 96 to be the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9have not yet been separated from each other.

Next, after the thin resist portions 92 b, which have covered thechannels of the TFTs 10, have been removed by an oxygen plasma ashingprocess, for example, the reflective metal film 96 and dopedsemiconductor layer 7 are etched again. Thereafter, when the resist mask92 is removed, the structure shown in FIG. 42C is obtained. At thispoint in time, the i-semiconductor layer 6 located under the data lines5 and drain electrodes 9 is partially exposed through the gap betweenthe data line 5 and drain electrodes 9 as shown in FIG. 41B.

Thereafter, a gate insulating film 4 of SiN_(x) and an AlNd film aredeposited by a CVD process to thicknesses of 400 nm and 200 nm,respectively, over the structure shown in FIG. 42C and then the AlNdfilm is patterned using a second mask. In this manner, gate lines 2 areformed as shown in FIGS. 41B and 42D.

Subsequently, using the gate lines 2 as a mask, parts of the gateinsulating film 4 and i-semiconductor layer 6, which are not coveredwith the gate lines 2, are removed. In this manner, the structure shownin FIGS. 41C and 42E can be obtained. As a result of this etchingprocess, the part of the i-semiconductor layer 6, which existed betweenthe data line 5 and drain electrode 9, is removed entirely except theparts for the TFTs. In the end, the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 in thesame shapes as the overlying pixel electrodes 14 and drain electrodes 9exist under the pixel electrodes 14 and drain electrodes 9. Also, thesemiconductor layers 6 and 7 in the same shapes as the overlying datalines 5 exist under the data lines 5.

The active matrix substrate 1100 of the tenth embodiment includesreflective pixel electrodes 14, and can be used to fabricate areflective liquid crystal display device. In accordance with the methodof the tenth embodiment, parts of the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 areleft under the pixel electrodes 14. Accordingly, even if the pixelelectrodes 14 are made of a transparent conductive film, this activematrix substrate 1100 is not applicable to a transmission-type liquidcrystal display device.

It should be noted that the gate lines 2 do not have to be made of AlNd.Alternatively, the gate lines 2 may be made of any other conductivematerial so long as the gate lines 2 can be used as a mask for etchingthe gate insulating film 4 and semiconductor layers 6 and 7. Examples ofother materials for the gate lines 2 include Ta, Mo, W, Ti, Al, an alloythereof, APC and ITO. Also, multiple layers of these materials may bestacked to form the gate lines 2.

The reflective metal film 96 does not have to be made of APC, but may bemade of Ag, Al, Au or an alloy thereof.

The material of the gate insulating film 4 is not limited to SiN_(x),either. Alternatively, the gate insulating film 4 may be made of eitheran inorganic insulator like SiO₂ or an organic insulator such as BZT.The gate insulating film 4 may also be a stack of these materials.

As described above, in the active matrix substrate of the tenthembodiment, the pixel electrodes 14 are formed by patterning areflective metal film. Accordingly, a display device to be obtainedusing this substrate is reflective. In contrast, the active matrixsubstrate of any of the first through fourth embodiments is applicableto a transmission-type display device. Stated otherwise, to apply thefirst, second, third or fourth embodiment to a reflective device, thetransparent conductive film should be replaced with a reflective metalfilm and then the data lines 5, drain electrodes 9 and pixel electrodes14 should be formed by patterning the reflective metal film. In thatcase, the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 may be left under the pixelelectrodes 14. For that reason, in forming a reflective device, there isno need to pattern the semiconductor layers 6 and 7 into the shapes ofthe gate lines 2 before the pixel electrodes 14 are formed. Instead, astriped channel protective layer may be formed on the gate lines as inthe fourth embodiment. In that case, when the data lines 5, drainelectrodes 9 and pixel electrodes 14 are formed by patterning thecontact layer and reflective metal film deposited thereon, the channelprotective layer can be used as part of the etching mask after therelatively thin portions 92 b of the resist mask 92 have been removed.Accordingly, even after the unnecessary parts of the semiconductorlayer, located between the data line 5 and drain electrodes 9, have beenetched away, the semiconductor layer is still left under the channelprotective layer. As a result, parts of the semiconductor layer thatfunction as respective semiconductor regions for the TFTs can bearranged appropriately on the gate lines.

Optionally, the structure of any of the sixth through ninth embodimentsmay be combined with the transistors of top-gate type according to thetenth embodiment. That is to say, storage capacitance lines may beformed additionally or upper-level pixel electrodes may be arranged onan insulating film deposited over the substrate.

Embodiment 11

In the first through fourth embodiments, the gate and data lines 2 and 5extend in thin stripes and have no parts protruding or depressed in thedirection parallel to the principal surface of the substrate 1.Accordingly, even if the data lines 5 have misaligned with the gatelines 2 in the direction parallel to the gate lines 2, the layout ofeach pixel does not change. On the other hand, the shift of the datalines 5 in the direction vertical to the gate lines 2 should not exceedthe alignment margin ΔY, which is smaller than the pixel pitch.

For that reason, if the substrate expands or shrinks non-uniformlydepending on the direction, then the data lines 5 are preferablyarranged parallel to the direction in which the expansion or shrinkageof the substrate is small. Thus, according to this embodiment, thedirection of the data lines 5 is determined with respect to thesubstrate 1 so that the expandability of the substrate 1 in thedirection parallel to the data lines 5 is smaller than that of thesubstrate 1 in the direction vertical to the data lines 5. In thismanner, the shift in the direction parallel to the data lines 5 can bereduced so much as not to exceed the alignment margin ΔY.

On the other hand, to allow a sufficient alignment margin in thedirection parallel to the gate lines 2, the gate lines 2 should be longenough to extend way beyond the display area (pixel regions) straight asshown in FIG. 1. By providing each of the gate lines 2 with suchextended portions, even if the data lines 5 or pixel electrodes 14 havemisaligned in the direction parallel to the gate lines 2, the data lines5 or pixel electrodes 14 still can cross the gate lines 2 withcertainty. The alignment margin ΔX allowed in the direction parallel tothe gate lines 2 is defined by the lengths of the extended portions ofthe gate lines 2.

In this embodiment, the respective members are so arranged as to allowthe substrate to expand or shrink relatively greatly in the directionparallel to the gate lines 2 as described above. Accordingly, thealignment margin ΔX for the direction parallel to the gate lines 2should preferably be set greater than the alignment margin ΔY for thedirection vertical to the gate lines 2. For that reason, in thisembodiment, each extension of the gate lines 2 has a length greater thanthe gate line pitch.

For the foregoing embodiments, the present invention has been describedas being applied to making an active matrix substrate using a plasticsubstrate. However, the application of the present invention is notlimited thereto. It is true that the present invention achievesremarkable effects when applied to a fabrication process that uses anexpandable and shrinkable substrate like a plastic substrate. However,the present invention is also applicable sufficiently effectively to anon-plastic (e.g., glass) substrate. This is because even in such asituation, the present invention weakens the unwanted effects ofmisalignment among other things. For example, the present invention isapplicable particularly effectively to fabricating a large-size displaypanel using an exposure system with low alignment accuracy.

It should be noted that the active matrix substrate of the presentinvention is also applicable very effectively to various other types ofdisplay devices (including a display device that utilizes organicelectroluminescence (EL)), not just LCDs.

Also, a drain electrode 9 “crossing” its underlying gate line 2 hereinrefers to not only a situation where the drain electrode 9 extendstotally across the gate line 2 but also a situation where the edge 9E ofthe drain electrode 9 matches with the lower side edge of the gate line2 as shown in FIG. 4A.

In an active matrix substrate according to the present invention, aconductive member for connecting a pixel electrode to a thin-filmtransistor extends so far as to cross a gate line located distant fromthe pixel electrode. Accordingly, an alignment margin allowed betweenthe gate line and the conductive member increases so much that a greatlyexpandable and shrinkable substrate, like a plastic substrate, can beused.

In an embodiment where a semiconductor layer for thin-film transistorshas been self-aligned with a gate line (or gate electrodes), no maskalignment is needed between the semiconductor layer and gate line (orgate electrodes) in the fabrication process. Accordingly, even if thesubstrate has expanded or shrunk greatly, the semiconductor layer forthin-film transistors will not be misaligned with the gate line (or gateelectrodes).

In another embodiment where a channel protective layer has been formedover the semiconductor layer for thin-film transistors, the channelregions in the semiconductor layer are not etched in the fabricationprocess, thus suppressing the variation in transistor characteristic.Also, in an embodiment where the channel protective layer has beenself-aligned with the gate line (or gate electrodes), no mask alignmentis needed between the channel protective layer and gate line (or gateelectrodes) in the fabrication process. Accordingly, even if thesubstrate has expanded or shrunk greatly, the channel protective layerwill not be misaligned with the gate line (or gate electrodes).

In an embodiment where the gate line (gate electrodes) is made of anopaque metal, the semiconductor layer or channel protective layer can beformed by a backside exposure process.

In an embodiment where the thin-film transistors are covered with ablack matrix, the amount of OFF-state leakage currents, flowing throughthe thin-film transistors exposed to externally incoming light, can bereduced.

According to an inventive method of making an active matrix substrate,thin-film transistors can be formed over, and self-aligned with, a gateline by a backside exposure process. Thus, even if the substrate hasexpanded or shrunk, there is no need to concern about the misalignmentbetween the thin-film transistors and the gate line. Also, in the layoutadopted for the present invention, data lines and conductive members;functioning as source and drain electrodes, respectively, can cross thegate lines easily. For that reason, even if the substrate has expandedor shrunk greatly, properly operable thin-film transistors still can beformed. As a result, an active matrix substrate can be made using aplastic substrate although it has been considered difficult to do so.

An inventive display device includes the active matrix substrate of thepresent invention, and can perform a display operation using alightweight plastic substrate with excellent shock resistance.

1. An active matrix substrate comprising: a base substrate; a pluralityof gate lines formed on the base substrate; a plurality of data lines,each said data line crossing all of the gate lines with a firstinsulating film interposed therebetween; a plurality of thin-filmtransistors formed over the base substrate, each said thin-filmtransistor being associated with one of the gate lines and operatingresponsive to a signal on the associated gate line; a plurality oflower-level pixel electrodes, each said lower-level pixel electrodebeing associated with one of the data lines and one of the thin-filmtransistors and being electrically connectable to the associated dataline by way of the associated thin-film transistor; and a plurality ofupper-level pixel electrodes located over the lower-level pixelelectrodes with a second insulating film interposed therebetween, eachsaid upper-level pixel electrode being associated with, and electricallyconnected to, one of the lower-level pixel electrodes by way of anassociated contact hole, wherein each said upper-level pixel electrodeand the associated lower-level pixel electrode together makes up a pixelelectrode, which is connected to the thin-film transistor, associatedwith the lower-level pixel electrode, by way of a conductive member, andwherein the data lines, the conductive members and the lower-level pixelelectrodes have all been formed by patterning the same conductive film,and wherein each said lower-level pixel electrode crosses one of thegate lines, while the conductive member for the lower-level pixelelectrode crosses another one of the gate lines that is adjacent to theformer gate line.
 2. The active matrix substrate of claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of storage capacitance lines formed on the basesubstrate; each said storage capacitance line crossing all of the datalines with the first insulating film interposed therebetween; whereineach said lower-level pixel electrode crosses not only one of the gatelines but also one of the storage capacitance lines, while theconductive member for the lower-level pixel electrode crosses not onlyanother one of the gate lines that is adjacent to the former gate linebut also another one of the storage capacitance lines that is adjacentto the former storage capacitance line.